
Class ^LLiil 

Book ijc-fcJ} 

Copyright Is - 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




WILLIAM M. GOLDSMITH 



STONES IN A LIFE 



BY 

WILLIAM M. GOLDSMITH 

STUDENT IN STATE NORMAL 
SCHOOL 



SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI 



JEWELL PUBLISHING GO. 
SPRINGFIELD, HO. 



U sHry oVcongresS 1 
JUN 29 )908 



GOHY S. 



V 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1908, 

BY WILLIAM M. GOLDSMITH, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress, 
at Washington, D. C. 



DEDICATED 

TO 

ALL LOVERS OF PURER 

AND NOBLER LIVES 



PREFACE 



It is a well known fact that younger folk, especially the 
young men, are not giving the ordinary problems of life 
due consideration. I am led by my own experiences, as 
well as by close observation of my young associates, to 
believe that, if the more common mistakes of life were 
brought into closer communication with practical life, 
they would be more readily observed. With this idea in 
view, I have used the incidents of the two years of my 
school life prior to the preparation of this work, with 
which to present my experiences with a view of the more 
common stones that beset the pathway of young men. 

The stories, incidents and conversations recorded in the 
following pages are from real life and tell of my experi- 
ences during two years of striving to climb a few steps 
higher up the stairway of knowledge and success. The 
object of this little volume, "Stones In a Life," is not only 
to incite the younger readers to proper living, but also to 
encourage the more advanced in life to extend a helping 
hand to the young men and women in need of assistance. 



I do not claim any special literary merit for this work, 
for such could not be expected of a writer of my age and 
experience in English work. What I hope is that the vol- 
ume may be the means by which some other girl or boy 
will be helped to a higher and nobler life ; will be brought 
to a realization of their errors, and strive to make of them- 
selves manly men and womenly women. 

For assistance in bringing this work into being I am 
under obligations to President W. P. Dearing of Oakland 
City College for his valued article on "Education ;" A. 
Flanigan & Co. for the use of the chapter on "Conduct 
Toward Women;" the Eev. I. A. Humberd for his assist- 
ance in the solution of the tobacco problem, my father and 
others. W. M. G. 



CONTENTS 





CHAPTER. PAGE. 

I. A BUSINESS MISTAKE 9 

II. CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION 15 

III. THE FIRST SCHOOL 25 

IV. THE SNIPE HUNT 33 

V. SELF CONTROL 41 

VI. THE TOBACCO HABIT 48 

VII. LEAVING THE NORMAL IN DISGRACE 61 

VIII. CONDUCT TOWARD WOMEN 71 

IX. FINANCIAL PROBLEM 77 

X. THE VALUE OF AN EDUCATION... 87 

XI. CHRISTIAN WORK IN SCHOOL, DOES IT 

PAY TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 93 



XII. CHRISTIAN WORK IN SCHOOL (CONT.) 

WORK FOR THE Y. M. C. A 105 

XIII. EMILY. 115 

XIY. A MODEL YOUNG LADY 125 

XV. MEN WANTED : 133 

"THE SCARLET CHORD," A SERMON BY 
REV. D. W. GOLDSMITH, THE AUTHOR'S 
FATHER ...... 147 



CHAPTER I. 

A BUSINESS MISTAKE 

My father, a minister and a successful farmer, lived on 
a farm one and a half miles north of St. Francis, on the 
river which bears this name. He was pastor of two 
churches, one in St. Francis and the other in a neighboring- 
village. For five or six years he had spent his spare time 
in beautifying the farm, until he had made it the most 
beautiful country home in that part of the State. 

It was at this home that two lads first began to receive 
a little knowledge from the farm and the first reader. 
One of the twain was myself. Our work was not necessary 
towards supporting the family, but my father never was 
a believer in idleness, and so we had to do our share of the 
manual labor. Life on the farm was not the most agree- 
able thing at times, for we had a mile and a half walk to 
and from school, and that being in a low lying country 
the roads became so muddy during the rainy seasons that 
they were almost impassable, so that it became necessary 
at times for us to go on horseback. Very often the farm 
work would be so far behind that all the horses were 



10 STONES IN A LIFE 

needed, and at such times we were compelled to remain at 
home. 

Our parents saw that it would be next to impossible to 
give us an education in the face of these disadvantages, 
so it was that they decided to move into the village, where 
we would be close to the school. Father bought a small 
home in the town, where he planned to live during the 
winter months when school was in session and return to 
the farm in spring, and so it came about that we moved 
to town. 

Here it was that father began investing. He carried 
these investments to such a length that a financial crash 
resulted. He had added several acres to his already large 
farm, which he endeavored to oversee himself. Then, in 
company with another, he bought a drug store in the 
town. Later they increased their capital stock and estab- 
lished two drug stores in other towns, placing them under 
the management of non-interested persons. Father's part- 
ner died shortly afterwards and all three of the stores 
came under his control. 

In the meantime, in company with another, he establish- 
ed a saw mill and implement store, and so it came about 
that my parent found himself a minister of two churches, 
proprietor of three drug stores and a farm, a half interest 
in a saw mill and implement store, not to mention smaller 
interests such as a wheat thresher and a cattle ranch, 
which fell to his control. This was more than any one 



A BUSINESS MISTAKE 11 

man could attend to properly, and he began to realize the 
truth of the old adage, "If you place too many irons in 
the fire, one or more will surely burn. ' ' He had too many 
irons in the fire, and saw that something would have to 
be done at once or all would be lost. 

He closed out two of his drug stores at less than invoice 
price and placed his partner in control of the saw mill 
and implement store. Then, feeling that all was safe, he 
decided to give more of his time to his church work and 
his farm, but it was too late. The tide of prosperity was 
turning back. For the first time the farm did not bring 
forth an abundance of fruit, wheat and corn. The granary 
was empty, and the fruit house depleted. Many of the 
cattle died for lack of attention and others disappeared 
from the ranch. 

While financial affairs were taking up the greater part 
of father's time, the churches were being neglected, they 
began to decline and the minister's salary was unpaid. 

Father thought the financial condition of the saw mill 
and implement store was good, and that the profit from 
them would bring things around all right, but he found 
that he was deceiving himself. They, too, were losing 
money every day they were in operation. 

The crisis had come at last. One morning father went 
down to the mill and found bills posted on every article 
and stack of lumber. Examining them more closely and 
on making inquiries he found that his debtors, becoming 



12 STONES IN A LIFE 

excited, and fearing that they would lose what the com- 
pany owed them, had served an attachment suit on all 
the property, and then to cap it all he found that his 
partner had departed with his family to parts unknown. 
Even the books of the company, containing thousands of 
dollars worth of open accounts, were not to be found. All 
was gone. When the debts and assets were listed, it was 
found that the former were much greater than the latter. 

For a time father felt hopeless ; he felt that his courage 
was ebbing away, but he asserted himself and began to 
plan a new start in life. A few days after the crash he 
and mother were discussing the outlook. Father said 
everything had been swept away by the hand of the law 
with the exception of the old homestead, which the cred- 
itors were now preparing to serve attachment papers 
upon. 

"We can save it only by moving back and calling it 
our permanent home," said father. "No," replied mother, 
"it would not be our home in truth for it rightly 
belongs to our debtors. Although it shows years of hard 
labor by our own hands and is the prize of our life, we 
cannot keep it It must go towards satisfying the large 
debt. We will begin at the bottom as we did once before, 
but with much more experience. We have learned a les- 
son from this downfall that will last us a life time. Here- 
tofore we have been living more for the wealth of this 
earth and the almighty dollar than for the betterment of 



A BUSINESS MISTAKE 13 

others. We have made a mistake, let us realize it. From 
this time forth let us live not for the dollars, but, 

" 'Let us live for those who love us, 
Whose hearts are kind and true; 

For the heavens that smile above us, 
And await our spirits, too.' ' 

"Yes, wife," said father, "these are true thoughts and 
worthy of deep consideration. We must live for others, 
but more especially for our children. We must give 
these two boys a better opportunity to make aseful men 
of themselves, but the most difficult problem of all is 
that we cannot remain at this place, for we could not 
invest in anything here. The law would take away every- 
thing we could accumulate, so that a fresh start at this 
place would be impossible. 

"We must select a good place having a high school, 
move there, educate our boys and live for those around 
us. My only ambition for money from this time until 
death, will be to get enough to pay our debts and furnish 
us a living. 

"I will give all my time to study and try to make my 
church work a greater success than ever before, for I can 
now clearly see tin cause of our failure. My failure was 
brought about by my having too many things to look 
after, and not doing any of them justice. It has taught 
me a wonderful lesson. 



14 STONES IN A LIFE 

' ' It has shown me that no matter what kind of an occu- 
pation a man has, he must give his full attention to it if 
he wishes to make a success. He must not place his busi- 
ness in other men's hands, especially if they have not had 
as much experience as the owner himself, for more men 
lose their estates in this way than in any other. If a man 
wants a thing done well, he must do it himself. If I had 
only realized this fact two years ago when we moved to 
town and carried out my plans, putting my whole time to 
my work and attending to the farm, we would now all 
be happy and well fixed financially, while as it now is we 
are almost paupers, not knowing where our next home 
will be." 

Father and mother then decided that our future home 
would be at Campbell, a small town, not many miles away, 
but in another State. Here was located one of the 
churches in father's charge. After the farm, and, in fact, 
everything except the household goods and a team of 
horses, had been sold and paid on. the debts, we moved to 
our new field of battle, where I was placed in a good 
school. 

The next five years of my life, which were spent in 
the Campbell public schools, were the most happy in my 
career. During the winter months I attended school, 
and during the summer and on Saturdays I found em- 
ployment at the mills and the stores. 



CHAPTER II. 

CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION 

Five times Mother Earth had frozen since we came 
to our new home, and I was still in school. One cold 
winter night I was confronted by my first problem in 
real life. I was in my room busy with my books, when 
my brother came in and said father wished to see me. 
When I entered the room I found my father and mother 
had been discussing my future. 

"Son, you have been in school here for the past four 
or five years, almost paying your expenses by working, 
and I have never heard you speak of what occupation 
you would choose to follow," said my father. "Have you 
ever considered this question?" 

His words aroused me and I found myself in a quan- 
dary as to what to reply. I had been thinking about my 
work for the next year, but had given no consideration 
to my life's work. 

"Father," I replied, "I have been thinking a little 
about my work for the coming year, but have given but 



16 STONES IN A LIFE 

little consideration to my life's occupation. I hardly 
thought I was old enough to bother my mind yet about 
that, for I am not yet eighteen. I do not feel that it is 
right for me to go to school for it is a burden to you and 
mother, who have been so kind to me. 

"I remember that you and mother moved from the 
farm to town for the purpose of giving us boys a better 
opportunity. I recall your conversation with mother 
after your failure when you told her we were ruined 
financially, but despite this there was one thing that you 
would not neglect and that was aiding us boys to become 
useful men. Although I was but a small lad, I was im- 
pressed with your words. You and mother did as you 
said you would, placed me in school and paid all of my 
expenses with exception of the small amount I earned 
during vacations. 

"If you should figure up my account it would be so 
large that I could never repay it, if I should withdraw 
from school now. So feeling that this expense is not only 
a burden to you and mother but an injustice to the smaller 
children, I think I shall stop school after this year and 
secure a position as laborer at one of the mills and try to 
repay you to some extent, as I can earn $1.25 per day." 

"Such a step would not pay you, my son," replied my 
father, "for the simple reason that you lack only one year 
of finishing at the high school. If you drop out and work 
for a year, it is not likely that you would ever enter again, 



CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION 17 

and so your education would be stopped forever. If you 
were to drop out of school and go to work, it would not 
be necessary for you to let the choosing of an occupation 
worry your mind, for you would become and remain a 
laborer. If you should do this and not become a useful 
man, wherein would I be repaid for my efforts in your 
behalf? You probably would more than repay me with 
money, but that is not what I wish." 

"Father," said I, "you should not look at the matter 
in that way. There is no danger of my dropping my am- 
bition to attain a higher education, for I am determined 
to do so and wish to make a useful man of myself. I will 
work a year and by that time your financial condition will 
be better, then I can finish my high school work, and if 
possible take a year at college." 

Father appeared to be satisfied with this, and there the 
matter ended. The school days passed very quickly and 
though I often thought with regret of giving up my school 
work, the days were a source of pleasure to me, and I 
often wondered if there was any danger of my not re- 
turning to school, as father said might happen, if I were 
to withdraw for a year. 

Some times I thought I could not stick to my resolution 
and that things would turn out as he had stated. 

The last week of school had arrived and I had neglected 
to speak to the superintendent of my plans. This was 
worrying me, for I knew it would be a surprise to him, 



18 STONES IN A LIFE 

for he had taken a liking and had placed much confidence 
in me. Very often he had placed me in the grades as a 
substitute during the absence of some of the assistants. 
The morning of the last day I decided to have the matter 
out with him. As I walked towards the school building 
for the last time, I thought the whole world, except myself, 
appeared to be at the highest stage of joyfulness. 

I could fancy the old school bell tolling out "Mid 
pleasures and palaces, there's no place like home." I 
felt that the old school had been a sweet home for me for 
a long time. At last I reached the superintendent's office 
and found him buried in thought. I made an appoint- 
ment with him to talk my case over after school closed 
for the day. Though the day seemed to be the happiest 
of all the term for the other pupils, it was the saddest for 
me. My classmates were making plans for their senior 
year, while the juniors were preparing to take our places. 
I took no part in the great preparations, and more than 
once I was asked if I were in trouble or if I was not well. 

The gong at last sounded the closing of the school and 
I went into the superintendent's office. Before I could 
speak, he said: 

"Willie, I have been noticing you all day and it ap- 
pears to me that you are in trouble. If so, tell me the 
whole matter and if it be in my power to aid you, I will 
do so." 

"Professor," said I, '"I have been in school ever since 



CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION 19 

I have been old enough to attend, and father has paid all 
the expenses except a little I could earn during vacation. 
This I do not feel to be exactly fair, and so I have decided 
to drop out of school for a year, at the end of which I 
intend to return, finish up with high school and take a year 
at college, at the conclusion of which I can begin my life 
work. ' ' 

"My dear boy, you must not talk that way," replied 
the superintendent, "I know your father's financial state, 
but if you work during the summer he will be able to, and 
I believe, perfectly willing that you go on with your 
school work. If the matter of your working is already 
settled, there is no use of my arguing the point, but I 
wish it were possible for you to be with us next year. 

"As to your choosing a life's occupation, I do not see 
why you intend doing this after you have finished a year 
or two in college. Herein make up your mind now. You 
believe that a young man should not consider this until 
he is in his twenties, but this is a mistake. In order to 
make a success in any line of work or in school, a definite 
end should be in view. 

"If you sit down to read a book or study a lesson and 
do not have something planned out that you hope to ac- 
complish, your reading or your studying will be of no 
avail. I have noticed your work for the past two years, 
and I have noticed something lacking when I began to 
look for the end you were striving for. You think it soon 



20 STONES IN A LIFE 

enough to choose your life 's work four or five years hence. 
I believe it would have been to your advantage had you 
done this two years ago. 

"This same problem has been the cause of hundreds of 
men not making the success in life that they should. 
They go through school and college without knowing 
what special line they wish to follow, and, therefore, 
possibly neglect in school the thing most needed in life. 
There are many men who drop one line of work to take 
up another, fail in it and try still another. This is caused 
by their not being definitely determined in early life as 
to what they wish to follow. 

"I once knew a man who had the same opinion about 
this matter that you have. He kept saying within a 
year or two he would decide what he would do. When 
he finished college at the age of twenty-two he came home 
and got a good position in an office, but with the under- 
standing that he was not going to be an office man. He 
worked at that for some time and then decided to try 
real estate until he could find something better. He 
changed his pursuits every two or three years until he 
was past thirty. By that time the best position he could 
hold was sub-clerk in a grocery store. Thus you see the 
fallacy of a college education for this man, who did not 
have an object in view 

"On the other hand I recall a large, awkward country 
boy, who was in my school from the sixth grade to the 



CHOOSING AN OCCUPA TION 21 

high school. He had not been in the school for more than 
a week before he became known to the other boys as 
Doctor Ben, for he let it be known that he was going to be 
a physician. I hardly thought that he would stick to his 
resolution, being then but in the sixth grade. However, I 
noticed that he led his class in physiology, while he was a 
little dull in other studies, and this attracted my atten- 
tion. 

"I began to watch Dr. Ben, especially after he entered 
high school. The awkward fellow soon developed into a 
neat looking young man and during his attendance in my 
school he led every science class, and kept me busy look- 
ing up questions that were more in keeping with a medical 
college than a high school. He was a real doctor even 
before he left us. 

' i Some years later I received a letter from Dr. Ben, who 
is now practicing in a large city. He stated that he had 
finished his medical education in about half the time it 
was supposed to take, explaining this by saying that it 
was due to the fact that he had gathered so much material 
along his line while in the public schools. 

"Can you not see from these illustrations that it would 
be the best thing for you to decide now what you wish to 
make of yourself?" 

I acknowledged that the professor was correct, but 
stated that I was unable to make a choice inasmuch as I 
had not the least idea what career I wished to follow. 



22 STONES IN A LIFE 

"This is a question every man should decide for him- 
self," replied the Professor, "and should take time to 
consider it, but it is also true that some men know more 
about what the other is fit for than he knows himself. I 
have been with you so much that I believe I can tell you 
what you are cut out for. I have watched you while you 
were substituting in the grades, and found that you not 
only made a success at teaching, but it appeared to be a 
pleasure to you. I believe you would make a successful 
teacher. Did you ever think of that?" 

I acknowledged that I enjoyed substituting work in the 
grades and that I had considered being a teacher, but had 
decided to drop the matter, fearing that I was incompe- 
tent to take charge of a school. I further stated that 
there would be great difficulty in my securing a position, 
and if I did get a place I would not know much about con- 
ducting the work, as I had not studied the methods of the 
teachers, and that if I had considered being- a teacher I 
might have gathered much useful information by observa- 
tion while in the high school. 

The Professor brightened when I began to speak this 
way. 

"I will admit," said he, "that it is not a good plan for 
a teacher or anyone else to begin a work until they are 
amply qualified to do so. This is the ruin of many busi- 
nesses, but I imagine I have more confidence in you than 
you have in yourself and I believe you are competent to 



CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION 23 

teach. All you lack is methods. Had you known two 
years ago that you wished to be a teacher and had ob- 
served the methods used, you would now be prepared to 
take a school, but my advice to you now is to go right 
ahead, put in an application for a position in the grades of 
this school, and I will do all in my power to influence the 
Board to give you a place. Election day is but a month 
away. ' ' 

The plan suited me well enough, but I was doubtful as 
to the outcome, for I hardly believed it possible for the 
Board to employ me, young as I was, when they could get 
experienced teachers ; still, I was resolved to try. The next 
four weeks were long ones for me. I was constantly 
thinking about my work and wondering whether or not I 
would be successful in getting the coveted position. 

The morning after the election of teachers I received a 
note from the Secretary of the Board informing me that I 
had been elected a teacher of the seventh and eighth 
grades for the ensuing year. Thus the following Septem- 
ber I was to begin my life's work. 



CHAPTEK III. 

THE FIRST SCHOOL 

I spent all my leisure time during the summer months 
planning for my school work. All day I thought of the 
future and at night I dreamed of my charge to come. I 
wanted to make a good start, for I knew that my life's 
success would depend on the first effort. I rather feared 
beginning work, for I knew that many of the boys who 
would be under my tutelage were former associates and 
many of them as old as I. The great problem that con- 
fronted me was how I was to wield the proper influence 
over a class of boys as old as myself and with whom I had 
been associated as an equal for some time. I felt, how- 
ever, that I had laid aside my boyish ways and was being 
transformed into a man. 

The summer months rapidly passed, and the second 
Monday in September, the day I was to begin my career 
as a teacher, came around. I went to the school house at 
an early hour and made the necessary arrangements in 
the class room before the pupils began to assemble. As 



26 STONES IN A LIFE 

the smaller boys came in I began to feel that the job 
would not be so hard after all, bnt when I saw the bigger 
ones coming I began to anticipate trouble. It appeared 
from the attitude of the class, that the larger youths were 
going to make trouble for the "kid" teacher within a short 
time. I got an inkling of this by the greetings given me 
by some of my boy friends. 

The first of these greetings came from Harry, who 
greeted me with a hearty "Good morning Bill." I ac- 
knowledged the salutation pleasantly. Then came a num- 
ber of other youngsters, and last of all John and Will, 
dragging their feet as though weighted with iron. Both 
of these greeted me with "Hi Red." This was the title I 
had received when I first entered school at that place, on 
account of my complexion and hair. The salutations from 
the girls were more pleasing, however, most of whom ad- 
dressed me with a giggle as "Billy," others went so far 
as to term me "Goldy." It was hard for dignity, but I 
tried to be as courteous as possible. 

At length the Superintendent gave the signal for class 
work to begin, and I saw to it that my door was closed so 
that the high school pupils passing my way could not 
witness the commotion going on in my class room. I 
found myself facing a rather difficult problem, and was at 
a loss what to do when the Superintendent entered the 
room, and instantly the turmoil was silenced. He gave the 
pupils a good talk on good conduct and respect due the 



THE FIRST SCHOOL 27 

teacher, telling them that I should be addressed as Mr. 
Goldsmith, not as "Billy," "Goldy," or "Red." When 
he had retired the disturbance was renewed. 

Frank nudged Henry and Henry nudged John, and so 
went the girls tittering and the smaller boys throwing 
paper balls. I saw that the crucial moment had arrived 
and so walked around to the front and stood calmly by my 
desk. 

"Betcher we're going to catch it now," whispered John 
in audible voice, "for making so much fuss, but if you 
fellows will stand with me, we will show them how to 
make a kid the boss of us." A few of the pupils, how- 
ever, had begun to show signs of paying attention, and 
so I waited patiently. 

"I wonder if Bill will be a goody, goody, or a saucy 
kind of a teacher?" Henry said to John. "If he is the 
goody, goody kind he will begin by saying: "Boys and 
girls you are all too large to give me trouble, you are not 
children, but young ladies and gentlemen, therefore you 
will not deceive me, but will act like young ladies and 
gentlemen. " If he is the saucy kind he will say : "Boys and 
girls, I want you to understand that I am the boss of this 
room and I will have order if I have to die for it. If I 
cannot handle you I will send you to the Professor. ' ' 

About this time John burst into laughter and then 
silence fell upon the room. I took this opportunity to 
begin and announced that we would begin the class by 



28 STONES IN A LIFE 

singing, and called upon some of the larger girls to lead 
the first song, and the next moment the thrilling notes of 
"America" were filling the room. It seemed as if all the 
pupils had gotten the spirit of the thing, and after two 
other songs had been sung I called upon them to join me 
in repeating the Lord's prayer. The dropping of a pin 
could have been heard during this part of the service. At 
the conclusion of the prayer, however, the disturbance 
was renewed. 

When I had succeeded in quieting them I began with 
the class work. 

"Boys and girls," said I, "how many of you are famil- 
iar with the history of the colonies, their troubles, wars, 
final success and freedom?" 

"Don't sound like he is going to be either goody, goody, 
or saucy, does it John?" whispered Henry. I paid no at- 
tention to this, however, but continued with the lesson. 
Several hands were raised in answer to my question and 
I called on Henry for an answer. 

"I guess it was because they stuck together, did some 
hard fighting, wasn't it?" he answered in a gruff tone of 
voice. 

"Yes," I replied, "there was one man as you all know 
who led the way and bade all his men follow. This man 
was Washington. His men stuck to him, as you say, until 
the end and liberty resulted. They were all successful 
and they all had liberty. Why can we not let this school 



THE FIRST SCHOOL 29 

here be like Washington's campaign? You pupils be the 
soldiers and I will be Washington. I will take the lead 
and you stay with me until the end of the school year 
when it can be said that we have been a success. All of 
3^ou who will agree to stay with me and try to make this 
school a success, write their names on a piece of paper. ' ' 

There was a scramble for pencils all over the room. I 
called upon Will, the bad boy of the school, to collect the 
papers, for I had noticed he had made it a point to place 
his name well in my view. I then proceeded to classify 
the scholars and to take up the regular work, and the day 
passed rapidly and successfully. 

When school had closed in the evening and the boys 
were on their way home Harry said to John : 

"I believe if we boys stick to Bill and do the right 
thing, it will be the best thing for us and we will have 
success. ' ' 

Will agreed to study and behave himself if John and 
Sam would agree to the same plan, and so the others came 
around to the same way of thinking. The boys and girls 
kept their promises, and though I had some small troubles 
there was nothing very serious. 

I had a little experience during the second month of 
school that may be worth chronicling. Harry had been 
a very good boy until this time, then he seemed to forget 
and was back at his old mischief. I had spoken to him 
repeatedly about pulling the hair of the girl in front of him 



30 STONES IN A LIFE 

and I had hardly finished warning him against this prac- 
tice when he gave her hair an extra yank, causing her to 
cry aloud with pain. This was once I lost my self control. 
I turned and gave him a sharp thump across the head with 
a ruler. He jumped to his feet as though to fight, but 
changed his mind on second thought. 

As he sat down, however, he said, "You will be sorry 
you did that," and I was. Not understanding what he 
meant and supposing the trouble to be ended I resumed 
my work. I had hardly begun when I heard something 
whiz through the air, and I dodged in time to escape a 
book on history, which struck the blackboard with such 
force that it broke open and fell to the floor. Instantly 
silence fell. 

All the students expected to see Harry receive a severe 
chastisement. Harry himself was calmly awaiting his pun- 
ishment. I continued the work of the class, although I 
kept an eye on Harry for fear of something worse than a 
book of history. 

When school closed Harry remained in his seat, and 
when I came to him there were large tears in his eyes. 

"Mr. Goldsmith," said he in a broken voice, "I am a 
traitor. I was the first to write my name on the paper 
and now I am the first to go back on my word, but I would 
not have acted as I did if you had not hit me with the 
ruler, but I guess you had a right to do that. I am sorry 



THE FIRST SCHOOL 31 

I acted as I did, but I want yon to punish me for it so I 
can make a new start. ' ' 

I said "no," that I knew I was wrong as well as himself 
and promised that if he would help me keep order there 
would be nothing further said about it. To this Harry 
agreed, and he ably assisted in preserving order. 

The next day I went to the Superintendent and told 
him about the trouble. He told me I had acted entirely too 
hasty and that I should learn to practice self control. He 
warned me about being hasty and reminded me to think 
ten times before I acted once. He said that the practice 
of teachers punishing children while in an angry state of 
mind was not for the best. He told me of his own rule by 
which he never punished a child for misconduct for at 
least a day after the offense had been committed. This 
rule, he said, was not only adapted to the school room, 
but also to the home, for invariably mother and father act 
hastily, only punishing their children when in anger. 

"When parents punish their children," said the Super- 
intendent, "they do so thoughtlessly, oft times slapping 
them in the face, hitting them with sticks and kicking 
them. Authorities say that many cases of deafness have 
resulted from injury to the inner ear as a result of blows. 
Parents and teachers should talk to the child about its 
misconduct, making it feel sorry for what it had done and 
showing it the right way. If it is necessary to punish a 
child after talking to it, let it know exactly why you are 



32 STONES IN A LIFE 

going to do so and then punish it. If corporal punishment 
be necessary, select some part of the body on which pun- 
ishment will not be lasting, but never strike a child on the 
head." I thanked the Superintendent for his advice and 
ever bore it in mind. 

The months passed rapidly and the closing days of 
school arrived, and I had not decided what I would do 
the following year. I debated with myself as to whether 
to go back to school myself or continue teaching. I wished 
to return to school, but my financial condition made it 
necessary for me to continue teaching. However, I was 
determined to get a higher education and made up my 
mind to go back to school. 

With the aid of my father and two other friends I bor- 
rowed enough money, as I thought, to carry me through 
the first year at the Normal. There were four weeks be- 
tween the time the school in which I was teaching closed, 
and the opening of the Normal, and this period I spent on 
the farm assisting my parent. At last the day came for 
my trip to the Normal and with a kiss from mother and 
plenty of goodbyes from the rest of the family, I hastened 
to the station. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SNIPE HUNT 

The first few weeks at the Normal passed without any- 
thing of especial interest happening. I had procured 
room and board at Albert Hall, the boys' dormitory, where 
sixty or seventy other lads were located. Most of them 
were full of tricks, which they were continually playing 
upon each other, but I did not care to take part in any of 
them, although I enjoyed watching the other fellows get 
caught. The boys were not long in noticing that I was 
getting all the fun out of the jokes without running any 
risk of getting caught myself, so they looked for an oppor- 
tunity to catch me. 

I was well versed in all the ordinary methods of hazing, 
so that I was a rather difficult subject to catch, but the 
snipe hunt proved my undoing. The trick was worked so 
successfully, and I never thought for a moment but that 
all was well. 

One of the boys with whom I had been very friendly 
came to my room one evening and began to talk enthusi- 



34 STONES IN A LIFE 

astically of the snipe hunt scheduled for that night. I told 
him I was not at all interested in common snipe tricks. 
He assured me, however, that the trick was not intended 
for me, but for one of the other fellows. 

"It is not intended that you be the trapper," said my 
friend, "for I know that you are on to all these tricks, and 
more than that I am too good a friend of yours to attempt 
a prank on you. All I want is your assistance in playing 
a trick on Joe Millard, who thinks because he has taught 
school for two years that he is too wise to be with our 
crowd. We want to haze him, and if you will lead the 
gang we can easily play the trick. It would be one of the 
best jokes in the school if we could get Joe two miles 
away in the hills and let him hold the sack for snipes 
tonight." 

Although I was not given to playing jokes, this one ap- 
pealed to me very much, for I had often heard Joe boast 
of his knowledge of woodcraft and of how he had played 
jokes on other fellows, so I agreed to lend my assistance 
toward turning the tables on Joe. 

It was decided that I notify Joe to accompany the snipe 
hunters, which I did. He hesitated for a time, but after- 
wards consented. He said he had never been snipe hunt- 
ing, but was willing to try his hand if I were going. I 
went up to my friend Bob's room to tell him of the hunt, 
but he begged to be excused, saying there was some trick 
in it and I had better stay away from the crowd or they 



THE SNIPE HUNT 35 

would be turning the joke on me instead of Joe. I assured 
him that such a thing was impossible, for I- was to be the 
leader of the crowd myself. Bob said he would stay at 
the school, however, and in the morning we would see 
who was right. 

It was 8 :30 o 'clock when the snipe hunters assembled in 
the parlor with sacks, clubs, strings, ropes, candles and 
such other paraphernalia as was required for the hunt. 
Joe wanted to know if we were not going to take any 
dogs, but I assured him dogs were unnecessary, and that 
all we had to do on a dark night was to station one or 
sometimes two men at the head of a small valley with a 
sack and candle, while the rest of the crowd came down 
the valley driving the snipes towards the trappers. I 
explained to Joe how the snipes, being attracted by the 
candle, would rush into the sacks. Joe said he wanted to 
hold one of the sacks providing some one would help to 
keep him company. 

The hunting grounds were about three miles north of 
the Normal, but we went in a roundabout way in order to 
lose Joe. About the time we reached the sniping field, the 
tower clock struck ten and I knew that Joe was lost for he 
spoke of the clock as that at the depot, which was in an 
almost opposite direction from the Normal. I thought if 
he were left alone he would not reach the Normal until 
daylight. 

Being all ready for the hunt I sent some of the boys 



36 STONES IN A LIFE 

down the valley to drive in the snipes while Joe held the 
sack. I told him to light his candle and hold it opposite 
the mouth of the sack, but he protested about being left 
alone. For fear of his getting on to the trick and being 
persuaded by the other boys I agreed to hold another sack 
near by. It was agreed without Joe knowing it, that the 
gang station me on the one side of the valley across from 
Joe and that after I had been stationed they were to give 
Joe his place and then return for me, when we would start 
for the Normal, leaving Joe in the woods alone. Joe was 
very enthusiastic about catching snipes, and the plan 
seemed to be working smoothly. 

After I had been stationed at my post, the crowd disap- 
peared in the darkness to place Joe on the other side of 
the ridge. I could hardly keep from laughing, as I heard 
them telling him how to hold his sack. I heard one of the 
boys say, "Now, Joe, don't you say a word or make a 
move, for if you do, it will scare the snipes away and 
Goldsmith will catch more than you. If he speaks to 
you do not answer him, hold your sack well open and keep 
your candle near the left side." Then their voices died 
out. 

I waited for some time expecting to hear the signal to 
rejoin them, but no signal was heard that night. I con- 
tinued to wait, and as time passed I began to grow sus- 
picious. Could it be possible that the joke was on me, 
that I was abandoned three miles in the woods, after 



THE SNIPE HUNT 37 

having thought I was playing a joke on another fellow? 
Had they really stationed Joe with a sack, or had they 
talked that way in order to deceive me? I recalled that 
they had spoken unduly loud, but considered they might 
have done this to be sure that I heard them, and make me 
believe they were putting the joke on Joe. 

After I had waited some time and heard nothing but my 
own breathing, I realized that I was the one that was being 
joked, and I knew when I came to this conclusion, that 
the crowd was half way back to the school while I was 
alone in the woods with a candle and a sack. I did not 
know what to do for a time, but decided the best thing 
was for me to return to the school as rapidly as possible. 

It was after midnight when I reached the dormitory 
thoroughly tired out. I went to bed as soon as I arrived, 
and was so tired that I was unable to sleep. After four or 
five hours of restless tossing I arose to dress and found 
that my trousers bore marks of the snipe hunt. They 
were torn as though they had been dragged through a 
barbed wire fence. I met all of the boys at the breakfast 
table, and to my surprise not a word was said of the hunt. 
This was Sunday morning, and on account of the holes in 
my clothing I was unable to go to Sunday School and so 
remained in my room all day. About ten o'clock the 
morning paper was tossed into my room over the transom 
by an unknown hand, and I opened it to see what was in 
it. I glanced down the front page and in bold letters was 



38 STONES IN A LIFE 

that which made me throw it down in anger. Curiosity 
got the upper hand, however, and I read in large type : 

"SNIPE HUNTING A NEW FEATURE— STUDENTS 
ADD NEW DEPARTMENT TO NORMAL SCIEN- 
TIFIC COURSE." 

The story of the hunt follows : 

"According to authentic reports a new department has 
been created at the Normal, and for one night, at least, it 
proved very popular. This new department was not 
originated by the faculty, but solely by the students who 
are attending the summer session. Years ago expert hunt- 
ers discovered snipes could best be caught by driving them 
into a sack, if the proper person could be found to hold 
the sack, and while hunting forms no part of the present 
course of studies, about twenty boys indulged in the hunt 
last night. William Goldsmith, who has had considerable 
experience at teaching, had never indulged in a snipe 
hunt so he was induced to hold the sack. Snipes can only 
be trapped at night and the darker it is the better. Last 
night was just right. With the aid of lanterns the party 
of hunters walked several miles into the woods and found 
a quiet place where the trapper was stationed with his 
sack. He was given a little candle to hold so that the 
birds could see how to enter the sack, and the balance of 
the boys started out to drive the snipes. After waiting 



THE SNIPE HUNT 39 

several hours, the holder became worried for fear the 
drivers had become lost and started home to give the 
alarm. After several hours of hard walking and running 
the trapper finally reached the dormitory about daylight 
and there found the drivers sound asleep. The scientific 
part of the snipe bagging then dawned upon him and now 
a new victim is being sought." 

This was a rub for me for some of it was not true. The 
article stated that I did not get back until daylight. This 
was not so, but I intended to pass it off as a joke. When 
my friend Bob returned from church and saw the article 
he told me that I had cause for anger. He assured me 
that it was more than a joke and that I should consider 
the boys who made up the gang as my worst enemies, and 
that I should go to the newspaper office in the morning 
and demand that the editor give me the name of the 
writer of the article, and that if he did not do so I should 
hold the paper responsible and treat him as i would a 
schoolboy. 

When Bob got through talking I began to feel that I 
had cause for being angry and the more I thought of it 
the greater my anger. I was soon in a fine rage and made 
Bob promise me that he would go with me to the news- 
paper office in the morning. My anger remained over 
night, and in the morning we went to the newspaper office 
and asked for the editor. 

When he appeared I demanded where he got the au- 



40 STONES IN A LIFE 

thority to print such an article about me. He assured me 
there was nothing in the article to injure me and that the 
whole matter was nothing but an innocent joke. I had 
had little experience with such jokes, and was far from 
being soothed by his explanation, and demanded that he 
tell me the name of the writer. After making a long 
search through the office, he told me the original article 
had been misplaced and that he could not remember the 
name of the writer, but would know him if he saw him 
again. We had somewhat of a wordy battle, then feeling 
relieved my friend Bob and I returned to the Normal. 

The next morning I found every student in the school 
had provided himself with a copy of the paper, which 
they referred to constantly in my presence, and even went 
so far as to paste the article on the bulletin board. I 
found myself very prominent for several days, being 
pointed out to strangers as the great Normal snipe hunter. 



CHAPTER V. 

SELF-CONTROL 

"Master your passions or they will master you." 

For the first week or two after the snipe hunt my life 
was made a burden by the jibes of the students, all of 
whom had been told of my ability as a sack holder. I was 
even informed by some of the jokesters that the hash 
which was served was made from snipes. 

It had always been my custom to go directly from my 
room to the recitation hall and from there to my. study, 
and this programme I continued in an effort to avoid meet- 
ing the other boys. One evening' about two weeks after 
the hunt, I was sitting in my room when Robert came in, 
slapping me on the back in a friendly manner and exclaim- 
ing: "How are you Goldy, old snipe hunter, how are you 
tonight, what is the English lesson?" 

I ignored Robert's derisive remark and asked him if he 
would not sit and have a chat with me. When he had 
comfortably seated himself in an easy chair and placed his 
feet on the writing desk, I began : 



42 STONES IN A LIFE 

"Robert," said I, "I have been thinking about the way 
in which I acted towards the boys who have been teasing 
me since the hunt, and also about the manner in which 
I spoke to the editor of the paper, and have come to the 
conclusion that I am very much in the wrong. ' ' 

"Oh, wrong, the mischief," replied Robert, "why, if I 
had been in your place that editor would be carrying a 
black eye yet. As for the boys who have been teasing you, 
I would hold each one of them accountable in a way they 
would remember. In a case of this kind I would let my 
passions get the better of me and it would be hard work 
to keep from knocking a few of the boys down." 

"I know very well how you feel about it," said I, "for 
it was you who was the cause of my getting angry. If I 
had not listened to you and permitted my rage to master 
me. things would be all right by this time. I tell you Rob- 
ert, what we need and what you particularly need, is more 
self control. I know we should possess more self control, 
but one's temper very often gets the better of us and so 
we forget ourselves. Bad temper, to a certain extent, is a 
part of man's nature. If nothing is done to subdue it, a 
habit forms and it so grows until it has become a very 
great part of us. 

"Some of these qualities may have been inherited, this 
being shown in the likeness of a boy to his father. If the 
father is quick tempered it is generally found that the boy 
is the same. Lack of self control on the part of a child 



SELF CONTROL 43 

is greatly clue to the teachings of its parents. Many par- 
ents encourage displays of high tempers in their off- 
springs, strange as it may seem. You have seen children, 
as have I, when quite young taught to fight or to use pro- 
fane language by their parents, and the parents are very 
often known as Christians, at least, they are church mem- 
bers. 

"One day I was visiting a neighbor's home, where one 
of the children, a boy of three years, was at play. His older 
brother, seemingly put out at the child's amusing him- 
self, began to tantalize by taking toys away from him. 
The little fellow began to cry and the mother said, 'Harold, 
slap brother if he doesn't let you alone.' The words were 
scarcely uttered before the little chubby fist was pounding 
the big brother on the head. At this point the entire fam- 
ily took notice, and all seemed eager to have Harold give 
his brother a good whipping. While the turmoil was on, 
I could not but think, 'poor little fellow, it will not be 
many years before it will take two or three punishments 
each day to keep you from fighting, ' and as later develop- 
ments proved, my conjectures were right. 

"About two years later the mother of Harold was visit- 
ing at my home and was telling my mother of the trouble 
she was having with her boys. She said Harold was con- 
tinually fighting with the neighbors' children, and this, 
despite the fact that her husband had whipped him as 
often as four times a day. 



44 STONES IN A LIFE 

"But it is more serious to encourage children to use 
profane language. Parents often encourage children in 
this by failing to reprimand them. Very often the larger 
brothers or boarders at the home are responsible for the 
bad language, they taking a fiendish delight in hearing 
the child use such expressions as 'Dod 'am 'ou, or 'do 'oo 
'ell.' When such habits have taken hold of the child, it 
is found that the work of redeeming them is very hard. 
The majority of good parents do all they can to help their 
children while the children are still with them, but the 
work is never completed when they leave. We must try 
to do something ourselves and it must be done early in 
life. 

"We, who would have full control of ourselves, must 
begin this task early in life, nor can we master our passions 
in a day. Instead it requires many days, weeks and 
months, and for some even years. This work of building 
up our characters and making us master of our passions, 
is like the construction of a great building. The proper 
foundation must first be laid, and on this the main struct- 
ure is built up day by day, until completed it stands a 
thing of beauty with all the marks of substantiality. So 
it is with the mastering of ourselves. We must work out 
every fault and carefully plan a way to correct them. We 
must choose proper company and everything that will aid 
the great work of self mastering. We often hear the ex- 
pression, 'to master myself is the greatest problem in my 



SELF CONTROL 45 

life.' Yes, this is a hard problem, but are we not looking 
for hard problems? To what extent would my mind be 
developed if I should only solve problems in simple addi- 
tion and not take up the harder and deeper mathematical 
problems? None. The same applies to the problem of 
life. If we solve only the smooth and easy ones, our stand- 
ard of living is raised but little, but if we set upon the 
greater problems, that use up energy and power in their 
solution, we gain much, we raise our standards. 

"Let us take for example the case of the habitual drunk- 
ard. Let him resolve that, live or die, he will not allow 
another drop of liquor touch his lips. Then let him stick 
to this resolution despite the great sufferings which he 
may undergo, and he will make of himself a manly man. 
His fellow men will recognize him as a man of determina- 
tion, and will aid him in his efforts to raise himself instead 
of passing him with a sneer, as before. Then there is the 
case of two men engaged in a fight. One falls and begs for 
mercy. If the successful man be a real man and one who 
is perfect master of himself, he will not take advantage of 
his fallen brother, but will rather raise him up. If he be 
a man who is not master of himself, he will close upon his 
fallen antagonist and beat him unmercifully, but of the 
two it is the man who is sufficient master of himself to 
aid his enemy who is the real hero, and not the one who 
takes advantage of his antagonist. The latter is a brute. 

"Self control is everything, and that which applies to 



46 STONES IN A LIFE 

men also applies to women. Men ever admire the pure 
woman and look down upon the sinful one. Why should 
there be two characters of women, sinful and pure? Be- 
cause one has learned to master herself and the other has 
not. Both have temptations. One was the master of her 
thoughts and passions and remained pure, while the other 
one fell. The latter becomes an object to be despised, 
while the former is loved, respected and honored. Does 
it not pay to control yourself? Eemember the words of 
the great writer, 'I had rather be dead and forgotten, 
than to live in shame and dishonor.' " 

At this point Robert interrupted me by striking the 
table with his fist and exclaiming : 

"That is the truth, Goldy; that last suits me exactly; 
you have given me some good advice and I expect to profit 
by it. I was in the wrong to encourage you to speak to 
the editor the way you did, and I must ask you to pardon 
me. Let us make an agreement to better master ourselves 
in the future. If a joke is played in fun, let us disregard 
it. You should never get angry at a joke, for you know 
you are a great fellow to indulge in jokes yourself, if they 
are on the other boy." 

The resolution being made and sealed with a handshake, 
Robert departed to his own room, and I was left light 
hearted, for I felt that the solution of one great problem 
had begun. 



SELF CONTROL 47 

The next morning I went to the editor of the paper and 
asked him to forgive me for my rude words. Following 
this I made it a rule to laugh when the boys joked with me 
about the snipe hunt, and strange to say. they soon 
ceased to plague me, and things continued along, in their' 
proper way. 




CHAPTEE VI. 
THE TOBACCO HABIT* 

"Say. Goldy, give me a chew of 'backer' please." 
"Thank you, John, I don't chew." 
"I know you chew Boh, pass 'her' around." 
"Yes, sir; with pleasure. I have a new brand here 
that I would like to have you try. Ton will find it a little 
bulky and hard to get your teeth into, but I think when 
you once get into her you will think her fine, for she u 
sweet flavored and juicy. I tell you boys, she is so fine, 
it makes a fellow want to slap his grandma to chew her. 
All of you fellows, except Goldy, take one on me. 

Chew, chew, chew, squirt, squirt, squirt, from half a 
dozen filthy mouths. Such were the conversations and 
actions which took place in my room one evening, when 

• Rev I A. Humberd, General Secretary of the Cairo, 111., T. 
M C A., assisted in the preparation ot this chapter. His exact 
words are used in a number of places, while his thought is used 
throughout the chapter. 



THE TOBACCO HABIT 49 

some of the boys had finished their work and gathered for 
an evening of fun. 

All these squirts were aimed at something, but it was 
seldom that they landed where the human squirt-guns in- 
tended that they should. Those aimed at the radiator 
usually hit the mark, and sent up a sweet smelling odor 
from the hot iron. The shots at the slop jar and slightly 
opened window, however, went astray, smearing the 
floor, window sill, wash stand and any other furniture 
roundabout. After all the boys had retired to their rooms 
excepting Robert, I asked him what he thought of that 
gang. 

"What gang?" returned he in an insulting tone. 

"I mean that gang of tobacco worms we have had here 
tonight, and you included." 

' ' Oh, I guess the tobacco habit is not bad, ' ' said Robert, 
"if a fellow is not so careless with it. I see nothing very 
wrong in it at all. What do you think about the habit?" 

"I'll tell you what I think about it," I replied, "I 
think that you are not only blind on this subject but a 
little ignorant. Let me point out to you some of the 
filth, expense and harm in the weed. Did you ever cal- 
culate what an enormous job a tobacco user has on his 
hands in a life time, getting through with the tobacco 
habit? A pound plug will last a good average chewer 
about ten days, which means 36% pounds in a year, or 
1,460 pounds in a life time of forty years, (and there are 



50 STONES IN A LIFE 

many men who use it that long), an extra large dray load 
of 121 caddies. A pretty good sized job for a young man 
to attempt, but all boys are looking for great giants to 
conquer, and as there are several in life larger than this 
one, he grits his teeth and goes after it. These 121 cad- 
dies stacked up would make a monument about sixty feet 
high, a loftier shaft than the ordinary chewer can expect 
to have erected at his head in the sweet bye and bye. 

"But let us place this lofty monument at his feet and 
build another for his head. A healthy man secretes about 
one pint of saliva in one day, and a constant chewer 
secretes much more. But consider him normal and say 
that he spits a pint a day. I am quite sure that you do 
not think me exaggerating on this point, for you have 
seen men who would spit nearly that much at one time, 
and the large brown stains on the sidewalks, in the train 
coaches and in many homes, make one think of gallons 
instead of pints. I have often wondered if one of the 
best brands isn't called 'Star' because it makes such beau- 
tiful stars upon sidewalks, kitchen floors and shirt bosoms. 
A pint of amber a day makes 45 barrels of 40 gallons each 
in a life time, or 1,800 gallons for one little body. These 
barrels placed upon one another, make the second monu- 
ment for the head, 133 feet high, probably nearer heaven 
than the loftiest church steeple under which he has ever 
worshiped. 

"Then, when we count up the cost, we are astonished 



THE TOBACCO HABIT 51 

to see it run so high. Though a man seldom thinks of 
that, for he spends a dime or twenty-five cents now and 
then and scarcely misses it, as he thinks, but if he should 
keep a savings bank and deposit these dimes and quar- 
ters and later let them out at compound interest, he 
would soon see that he is spending fortunes ruining his 
pure body. The 1,460 pounds will cost about $730, if a 
man chews anything like a standard brand, and that sum 
at interest for forty years at say only 5 per cent will 
amount to the snug little fortune of something over 
$2,000. 

"You may consider this a little too high. Well, take off 
one-fourth of it and then you have enough left to pur- 
chase a neat little farm or a little home in most any city. 
But many would rather pay rent than give up their 'old 
friend.' Then on his death bed he has the joy of saying: 
'tobacco god, I have served thee well. I have conquered 
the great giant. Now take my old filthy body to the grave 
at the head of the worthy procession.' So when a boy 
having sent the $730 to the tobacco man and received the 
121 caddies, and the forty years' grind having been com- 
pleted, we see the great procession go toward the burial 
place. The poor, old, worn out, tobacco gin of a body in 
the lead — two dray loads of quids, the original 1,460 
pounds, one load of the empty boxes and five drays loaded 
with nine barrels each of amber bringing up the rear, is 
a picture that any man should be proud of. 



52 STONES IN A LIFE 

"And the cigar job is as easily figured. Just one after 
each meal and one to clear the head before retiring, makes 
one foot of the beautiful roll consumed each day, or 58,- 
400 in forty years — 1,168 boxes of fifty each; a total 
length of something near three miles of whole leaf and 
Cuban fill that has to be tugged and puffed to prove that 
America's sons are brave and dare to show it to the 
world. And the cost is only 20 cents a day, or only $2,920 
in forty years. This, with interest at 5 per cent, amounts 
to $8,760, a little more expensive than the chewing habit, 
but much cleaner. But if there is a gain in either why 
not indulge in both, so that the gain will be still greater? 
Let me read to you what Prof. Humberd says in regard to 
the effect of tobacco upon the body : 

"Several years ago when principal of a high school, I 
made the statement to the class in Science that nicotine 
was a deadly poison. One of the larger boys in the class 
opened his eyes incredulously, and I said, 'Jack, you 
don't believe that, do you?' He replied, 'It sounds rather 
fishy, seeing so many use it.' Well bring me a cat in the 
morning and I will show you. 

1 ' Next morning he came with the lustiest old torn cat he 
could find. I secured a cut of tobacco about the size of 
the end of your thumb, took it to the laboratory and ex- 
tracted the nicotine from it. In the afternoon the cat 
was laid out. A small sponge was saturated with the 
nicotine and held to its nostrils. In less than two minutes 



THE TOBACCO HABIT 53 

it was dead. I then took it to the operating table and the 
class gathered about me. I first opened the body and 
showed the effects of the poison upon the heart, lungs and 
large blood vessels. I then removed the skull and showed 
the effects upon the brain, and Jack was fully convinced 
as were the others of the class. The experiment taught 
four lessons. 

" First, that tobacco poison will make one sick. That 
cat looked sick ; it acted sick, in fact, it acted a good deal 
as a young boy acts when his first cud or his first cigar is 
tallying its first score on him. Second, that this sickness 
may be so genuine that it will produce unconsciousness 
and even death. Third, that tobacco must have a harm- 
ful influence over mature men. For what will force a 
large, healthy Sir Thomas to give up his nine lives in less 
than two minutes must necessarily leave some evil ten- 
dencies on a frail human being with but one life to affect. 
Fourth, it affects the mind. The blood tracks on the sur- 
face of the brain were marked with a slight tinge of dark 
brown, showing that this important organ had been 
affected. The brain is the sole instrument of the mind, 
and anything that injures the brain must show a harmful 
tendency in the quality and quantity of thought power. 
A carpenter cannot do his best work with dulled tools. 
An engineer cannot make his schedule time with an en- 
gine covered with rust. A man cannot set type with 
gloves on. Neither can a man do his best possible think- 



54 STONES IN A LIFE 

ing if he has taken into his system that which stunts or 
dulls the brain. It affects the power of mental concentra- 
tion among young men, whether in the common schools, 
high schools or colleges, or in actual business life. Enter 
an under grade in a school, say fifth or sixth, and if you 
see an overgrown boy in the class with smaller boys, you 
may put it down that he uses tobacco in some form or 
other. 

"Fully 75 per cent of the boys who grade themselves 
out of school before they complete their common school 
education, are victims of this habit. They soon become 
ashamed to be classed with smaller children, and so drop 
as the easiest way of solving the perplexing problem. 
They then form a private school of their own and take up 
the study of those things which make them 'men.' Pro- 
fanity, card playing, gambling, chewing and smoking, 
drinking, vulgarity, doubting the Bible, criticising the 
church and reading woolly literature, and when they grad- 
uate here, they enter professions which promote their in- 
terests mostly at night, and in which success means the 
saddest kind of failure. 

"The tobacco habit not only has a harmful effect on the 
head and brain, but on other parts of the body as well. 
I dare say that there is not a schoolboy or girl who has 
completed the sixth or seventh grade, who could not tell 
about tobacco affecting the tissues of all parts of the body 
with which it comes in contact. It lessens the natural 



THE TOBACCO HABIT 55 

appetite for food, injures digestion, causes frequent and 
severe affections of the eyes, blunts the sense of taste, and 
especially affects the upper air passages of the respiratory 
organs. The effect of tobacco upon the heart should not 
be passed with mere mention. This is brought about by 
the actions of nicotine on the nervous system, and fre- 
quently results in 'tobacco heart.' There is a large per- 
cent of the tobacco users troubled with this, especially the 
younger users. The heart is irregular in its actions, beat- 
ing with great force, and this is often accompanied with 
weakness, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea and vom- 
iting. 

"A true story is told of a man in France, who, dying of 
a ' tobacco heart,' willed his body to a medical college for 
experimental study, for the benefit of his young sons 
growing up. The heart was removed and placed in a 
vessel and boiled. A green scum soon covered the sur- 
face, and the foul odor drove the experimenting physi- 
cians from the room, one of them dying shortly after- 
wards from inhaling the poisonous fumes. 

"Of course, this is an extreme case, but we need not go 
away from home to find such cases, if they were only 
developed so that they would come nearer our observation. 
The laws of ordinary politeness are violated every day by 
those who use it in any form. The spitter spits, the 
smoker smokes. The spitter spits upon the sidewalk for 
his mother, his wife and his lady friends to wipe up with 



56 STONES IN A LIFE 

their dress skirts. He spits upon your office floor for you 
to scrub up. He spits in the train coach until you become 
nauseated. He comes into your home, he is your friend, 
but he wants to spit. He opens the stove door and the shot 
is fired. Part reaches the flames, part seethes upon the 
stove front, part falls upon the carpet, part upon his 
clothing and the balance upon his chin, and the conversa- 
tion proceeds as though nothing unusual had happened. 
If the stove is not near he looks about the room for some 
dark corner and adds to its darkness by making a deposit 
of the black fluid. Or if no suitable corner is seen he lets 
it fly in the middle of the floor, and accommodates the 
housewife or janitor by wiping it up with his foot. 

"The smoker smokes in the presence of his father, 
mother, brother, sister, or sweetheart. He goes to the 
dentist to have a tooth mended and forces the denist to 
inhale the awful fumes from his breath. He is sick and 
the doctor must administer unto him regardless of this 
offense. He calls upon his lady friend or goes walking 
with her, or probably takes her for an evening drive, 
still he must smoke. He will ask her if the smoke is 
offensive to her. She will say, 'sure not, I rather enjoy 
cigar smoke.' It is astonishing to see how the smoke of 
tobacco will nearly strangle the young lady, and yet she 
quietly submits to the impolite treatment. For myself, 
I admire the young lady, who, on being asked if it would 
be offensive to her to have a gentleman smoke in her 



THE TOBACCO HABIT 57 

presence, curtly replies, 'no gentleman ever smokes in 
my presence.' If all true American girls were made of 
such material, thousands of boys would be clear of this 
filthy and offensive habit, would be better men ; would be 
saved from a drunkard 's grave and a devil 's hell. 

"That smoking leads to drinking is no longer a theory, 
for the wisest observers have testified that such is the 
case. The drying of the throat and mouth and the pecul- 
iar sensations at the stomach often tempt the smoker to 
drink. You seldom see a drunkard or even a dram 
drinker, who does not use tobacco in some form. The boy 
accepts a 'treat' to a cigar or a cigarette, and a few years 
later, the mental faculties being weakened and the moral 
tone being lowered, the acceptance of a 'treat' to strong 
drink becomes much easier." 

At this point Robert interrupted me by saying : 

"There goes mine," as he threw something through the 
window. 

"Your what?" I asked. 

"My new plug of that sweet tobacco I was telling the 
boys about tonight. I have quit the filthy habit. You 
have convinced me that a fellow should not use it, and it 
is a rule of my life that when I am convinced that I am 
wrong on any point to go over to the other side for the 
better. This being my policy, I am compelled to say that 
I will never allow another piece of the filthy stuff to enter 
my mouth. Take my hand on that, Groldy." 



58 STONES IN A LIFE 

"Robert," I replied, "I certainly indorse the stand 
you take in regard to this matter. If every man and boy 
were to make the resolution to do the thing that is to their 
benefit, if convinced that it is for their good, we would 
have better men and boys. This world would be a better 
world to live in. But as condition of affairs now exist, a 
man will sit for half a day and listen to an argument, 
believe every point and at the close will say, 'Your points 
were all true, but you could not convince me if you were 
to preach a week.' 

"This same is true in regard to the tobacco habit. I 
have known men to listen to an instructive talk or read a 
convincing article in regard to the tobacco habit, and say 
at the close, 'I see that it is not the best, but I have used 
it for fifteen years and I can't see that it has affected me, 
so I will not give it up.' I wonder if such men ever think 
of the example they are setting before their boys. They 
certainly never think that they are leading the boys indi- 
rectly to drunkard's graves." 

"It is very late," said Robert, "but there is another 
point on this subject I would like to hear you discuss. 
Where are you going to place the thousands of church 
members and the hundreds of preachers who use tobacco 
very extensively? In other words, CAN A MAN USE 
TOBACCO AND BE A CHRISTIAN?" 

This was a difficult question for me to try to answer, 
nevertheless I made an attempt. 



THE TOBACCO HABIT 59 

"Robert, let me use you and your parents as an illus- 
tration," I said. "Let me picture your home, as I want 
it to bring out the thought. The father is dead. The 
mother is very old and lives in a filthy little house, a 
house that you could scarcely endure to enter at first on 
account of the filth and disagreeable odor. You know the 
poor old lady has only a short time to live, and in this 
filthy little home is the only place you can be with her. 
The question then arises, 'would you go into such a place, 
live with her and care for her until her death?' 

"Yes, she is your mother and your love for her is so 
great you would never think of the kind of a home in 
which you were going to live. Your only thought would 
be, 'what can I do to make the last days of the life of the 
one I so dearly love, pleasant?' " 

"So it is with our Heavenly Father. His love for us is 
so great that he can endure a little more suffering, in ad- 
dition to the suffering on the cross, by entering our filthy 
bodies for a short space of time to save our souls from 
everlasting ruin. The presence and power of the Holy 
Spirit will not be denied to any man who honestly desires 
them, no matter what his environments and conditions 
are. No doubt it is very grievous to His Divine presence 
to abandon the foul bodies of some men, but He will do 
so if honestly invited. We should remember that God 
has given us a pure body at birth, to keep and use a few 



60 STONES IN A LIFE 

years in this world. And some day, we know not when, 
we will be called upon to give it back to Him, but do we 
want to offer Him a body that is tainted with the filth of 
this world?" 




CHAPTER VII. 

MY LEAVING THE NORMAL IN DISGRACE 

The summer term of school passed rapidly, and the re- 
port showed my work to have been of a high character. 
Two months of the fall term had passed before one of the 
most serious problems of my life confronted me. I was 
sitting in the Latin room one cheerless day, watching the 
cold misty rain and listening to the solemn tick of the 
school clock. About 2 o'clock a call came for me to go to 
the President's office. As I passed out of the room, Rob- 
ert, who was sitting near the door, whispered, "going on 
the carpet are you, Goldy?" I answered I suspected so, 
I had heard it whispered that there was a charge against 
me, but knowing that I had committed no offense I felt 
that I would be able to prove my innocence. The Presi- 
dent asked me into his private office, and I was indeed ' ' on 
the carpet." 

"Mr. Goldsmith," said the President, "it grieves me to 
say that a charge has been filed against you. ' ' 

"Against me, I do not understand," I replied. "What 



62 STONES IN A LIFE 

is it ; pray tell me. ' ' I said this in a rather forward tone, 
but without appearing to notice my manner the President 
continued. 

"By careful investigation it appears that your conduct, 
while with a certain young lady of the school, was not the 
best. As you know it lowers the moral standard of the 
school to let such reports pass through the student body 
unnoticed, therefore, it is my duty to investigate such 
cases and act according to the disclosures." 

The charge and the way the President had spoken to 
me aroused my anger, and I said many things which 
should have been left unsaid. The President assured me 
that he would do all he could in my behalf, although he 
explained that my actions seemed against me. I heard 
no more of the matter for several days. I went to my 
room with a heart like lead, and after the last recitation 
of the day Robert came to hear why I had been called to 
the President's office. When I had told him of the charge 
and how I had spoken to the President, he reminded me 
of my agreement and the talk I had given him in regard 
to self control. I then began to realize that I had done 
wrong, and resolved to better contain myself in the 
future. Robert agreed to go with me the next time the 
case came up to remind me of my agreement. 

The next few days seemed like months, and about two 
weeks had passed before I was again called to the office. 



LEAVING SCHOOL IN DISGRACE 63 

I received permission for Robert to accompany me, and 
this time I exercised self control. The President informed 
me that he had investigated the charges, and that the 
result was not in my favor. I asked him if I did not have 
an opportunity to prove my innocence, tell me whether or 
not he considered it a serious offense and that if the pun- 
ishment would be public expulsion or suspension. He 
said he could not give me an answer to this, but he sus- 
pected the punishment would be suspension. 

After Robert and I returned to my room, we discussed 
my quandary. He said if I failed to prove my innocence 
that I would be suspended or probably expelled. 

"Yes," said I, "I have been thinking of that, and I 
have heard it told about men of advanced years that they 
were expelled from school in their younger days and that 
this was the cause of their slow progress in life. If I 
knew I would be expelled or even suspended from the 
school, I would leave the place never to return. More 
than that, the President will have the whole faculty, with 
twenty or thirty other ladies at the meeting, on Thursday 
when my case comes up, and I will be unable to face them 
unless I felt sure that I could prove my innocence. I 
would rather appear before the highest court in the coun- 
try than before these people. I will not do so. I will 
leave the Normal before I do that, and I do not care what 
they prove for I am going to leave at once, never to re- 
turn. I am only a wretched beast anyhow, not worthy to 



64 STONES IN A LIFE 

be called a student of such a school as this, not worthy of 
the respect of my own mother. I would rather be dead 
than " 

At this point I threw myself upon the bed and wept 
like a child. Robert sat down beside me and endeavored 
to drive away my gloom with words of encouragement. 
He said he thought it best for me to go to another school. 
Then the question arose as to where I should go. 

"I know where I can go," I said at last, "I will go to 
the new Normal in the Southwestern part of the State. I 
have heard it said that if a man be starting out in a cer- 
tain business, he should go to a new country, and this may 
be true with a young fellow starting out in life. He can 
do better in a new school. Whether this be so or not I 
will try it, and I will leave Tuesday for the new field. ' ' 

Arrangements having been made for my departure, I 
decided to notify the President that I would not be at the 
meeting of the faculty called to hear my case. The next 
day being Sunday I telephoned the President and we 
agreed to meet at the Normal office. I walked over to the 
school and was there met by the President and Vice Presi- 
dent. The President insisted upon my remaining and 
facing the trial, but I was determined and soon convinced 
him that I would not remain. When he saw I was going 
to enter another Normal, he gave me some helpful advice . 
After an hour's talk, during which he advised me as to 
my future, he bade me goodbye. 



LEA VI NG SCHOOL IN DISGRA CE 65 

The next day I spent in preparing for my journey and 
saying goodbye to my friends. Robert was affected at the 
parting, for we had been almost like brothers. He in- 
sisted npon going with me, but I got him to abandon the 
idea, he saying he would come the following year if I 
liked the place. 

Having learned that the English teacher's brother was 
acting President of the new school, and thinking I might 
obtain some information from her, I called at her home 
that evening, and was given a hearty welcome. We had 
been good friends for some time, and as a friend she was 
only too willing to assist me and she understood my 
trouble. She told me she would send a note to her 
brother by me. She sat down at her desk and finally 
handed me an unsealed letter saying that I should read it, 
inasmuch as it was about me. The letter read as follows : 

"Kind Charles: This is to introduce to you my boy r 
William Goldsmith, who is leaving our school for the pur- 
pose of enrolling in yours. We regret very much to have 
him leave us, and he has been in the classroom with me so 
long that I have become somewhat attached to him. If it 
is in your power to help him in any way, you may con- 
sider it a favor to me. Hoping he will make a success in 
your school, I am, your affectionate sister, Mattie." 

After I had read the letter I could hardly restrain my 
tears. Seeing I was speechless, she began : 



66 STONES IN A LIFE 

"William, when I first met you I took you to be an in- 
telligent youth, competent to make a great success in life. 
I have not changed my opinion, regardless of the reports 
about you. I expect some day, if I live, to hear of your 
making a grand success. I expect to hear people speak 
of you as a man not only upright and living for the good 
of himself, but for the good of others as well. I do not 
wish you to deceive me. Be a manly man wherever you 
may be. Laddie, I know you will allow me to ask one 
question before we part. 

"I have often heard you speak of your mother. How 
dearly you must love her and how kind she must have been 
to you. I remember the day you came into my recitation 
room with a letter from her which closed with the words, 
'give your English teacher my love.' I want to ask if you 
have neglected letting her know that you are to leave this 
school?" 

"No, I have not told her of my trouble as yet," I re- 
plied. "I cannot tell her for I know how it will trouble 
her." 

"Will," she replied, "you must send her a telegram to- 
night, if you intend to leave in the morning, and remember 
my last words, be a manly man. ' ' 

I assured her that I would remember her good advice 
and told her she had acted as a mother to me while I had 
been in school. I told her it was a pity there were not 
more men and women who would act as fathers and 



LEA VIN G SCHOOL IN DISGRA CE 67 

mothers to boys in trouble, and I assured her that she 
would always remain dear to me, and asked her to pray 
that I might be successful. I was overcome and started to 
leave without saying goodbye. 

Her last words were, "be a manly man." I went di- 
rectly to the telegraph office to send a message to my par- 
ents. It took me some time to frame a message, and I 
attempted several before completing a satisfactory one. 
I wrote : 

"Dear Parents: In trouble — leave tomorrow for new 
Normal three hundred miles away. Will write when lo- 
cated. Will." 

In the morning I caught the 5:30 train for the new 
school. Although it was a beautiful day it was not a 
pleasant one for me. I heard my fellow passengers dis- 
cussing the scenery, but my thoughts were of my future 
life and my home, and the dear ones there, and I could not 
help thinking of how mother must have felt when she re- 
ceived my telegram. I regretted that I had not written 
her explaining the situation, for I feared she would worry 
until she heard from me. After many hours of traveling, 
I came to the new field of my endeavors. 

As I left the train I was wondering where I would 
spend the night. I had harldy reached the platform when 
a voice behind me asked: "Is this Goldsmith?" I replied 
that such was my name, and my questioner explained that 
he was the acting President of the new Normal and that he 



68 STONES IN A LIFE 

had received a telegram from his sister stating that I was 
coming. This proved to me that my friend at the old Nor- 
mal was indeed a friend, for she had not only given me 
advice and a letter of introduction, but had gone to the 
trouble and expense of sending a telegram to her brother. 
What a happy world this would be if every man and 
woman took so much interest in helping others. 

The acting President took me to his home where I re- 
mained that night. The next day I secured a permanent 
boarding place, enrolled at the new Normal, and began to 
try being a manly man. I was well pleased with the new 
school, never before having met such a friendly lot of men 
and women. 

About a month after I had entered the Normal, the 
President took charge. I began to wonder if it were right 
for me to remain in school without the President knowing 
why I was there, but I feared to tell him of my trouble 
feeling that it might seem more serious than it really was. 
However, I decided to tell him the trouble, and when I had 
done so I told him if he thought I was unworthy to be a 
student of his school, I would willingly withdraw. To 
this he replied : 

"You will stay with us. I admire your step. There are 
very few young men who would not try to keep such a 
matter a secret. As long as you remain here and act as 
young men should, there will be nothing said about the 
past. I will do all I can to help you to be a man and make 



LEA VING SCHOOL IN DISGRA CE 69 

a success of your profession, but I have one request to 
make of you. I would like you to read the chapter on 
"Conduct Towards Women/' in a "YOUNG MAN'S 
PROBLEM" by McLeod." 

I secured the book and read the interesting article which 
I am using by permission, as my next chapter. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

CONDUCT TOWARD WOMEN 

Paul had a room mate named Tom Manson with whom 
he talked over various subjects. Among other things, the 
question came up of proper conduct when in the company 
of women. Tom, a dark-haired, dark-complexioned young 
fellow, with full lips and laughing eyes, spoke his views 
first: 

"I like a woman who has some feelings and is not all 
the time restraining herself and those about her. These 
over-good beings who are unwilling to let a man touch 
them, who shake hands with the tips of their fingers, and 
stand off from one with an air that seems to say, 'Keep 
at your distance, sir. There is a chasm between you and 
me,' are too cold blooded to suit my notion. Miss Mary 
Fielding, who visited this place last summer, is a type of 
womanhood that I do not admire. At a distance her 
golden-tinted hair, fair face and cherry lips charmed you. 
But coming closer to her there was a coldness in her 
glance that fairly chilled one to meet it. It was beauty 
with the charm of the diamond instead of that of a warm, 



72 STONES IN A LIFE 

living creature. Give me the girl who is fond of a parlor 
dance and does not faint at the thought of a caress. 

"What are women for, if not to be loved? And one 
without feeling, who is unresponsive, reminds me of an 
Iceberg. Miss Fielding would not let you get three feet 
of her to say 'goodbye,' though there was no eye to see, 
only the beams of the silent stars to witness the parting. 
And as to dancing, she would not hear of such a thing as a 
round dance. She wanted you away off so that she could 
keep you at your distance with those cold blue eyes. Who 
could love such a woman? A cold sweetheart makes an 
indifferent wife. I would as leave court the goddess of 
flowers and be done with it as to love such a woman. I 
like the shock and the thrill a pair of sweet lips can give. 
Let me look into eyes that seem to say, 'love me, love 
me.'" 

To this Paul replied : 

t: 'It appears to me that you like to play too close to the 
danger line. It does not follow that a woman is cold- 
hearted because she does not allow the caresses of the 
young men who wait on her. You like to flirt, and the 
more girls you have interested in you the better you are 
pleased. I think more of one who keeps in her place and 
holds me to mine. In talking to me of you once. Miss 
Fielding gave your disposition so perfectly that I will tell 
you some of the things she said : 

" 'Mr. Manson is very impulsive. He knows that he is 



CONDUCT TOWARD WOMEN 73 

handsome and delights to have all the young women ad- 
miring him. He thinks I am too cold. But it would be 
better for him if he only associated with self-poised young 
ladies. He does not know where to check himself, and 
needs the restraint of a steady eye. Once aroused, pas- 
sion may become an awful master. He is wise who re- 
fuses to trifle with it.' 

"You see she read your nature all too well, and suited 
her conduct to you. A young man cannot afford to go 
with girls who are over-fond of a caress. Your sweet one 
who loves all usually ends her social career by marrying 
for money or position, and cares about as much for her 
husband as she does for a dozen others. The truth is, the 
affections as well as the thoughts can be scattered until 
they have very little intensity and fixedness. As an offset 
to your views. I shall give you an account of an experience 
I once had with one of your kind of girls. 

"While I was at Mason on some business last spring, 
my home was with an old friend. He and his wife held 
me in high esteem and gave me welcome to the best they 
had. At the time, one if his nieces, a young woman about 
grown, was visiting them. It fell to her lot to entertain me 
in the evening after supper. She was a maiden with soft 
brown eyes, a clear complexion between the color of a 
white and red rose, a very sweet voice and gentle, winning 
manners. She sang a number of touching songs and was 
warm-hearted and trustful. I had some lesral matters to 



74 STONES IN A LIFE 

attend to and was detained there for over a month. So 
we became quite well acquainted. On the evening under 
consideration she had sung at her best, a number of her 
sweetest love songs, and then first one and the other had 
been telling some touching romance. Only a short time 
before I had read 'Lucile' for the fifth time and wound up 
by relating to her that story. I had an extra good grasp 
of the plot that night and the narration deeply stirred her 
feelings. For the time * Lucile V distress of hope or pas- 
sion seemed to be her own. The color would come to her 
cheeks or fade away as the heroine was about to gain or 
lose her lover forever. She was looking me straight in the 
eye and it touched me to note the changing expression in 
hers. When I ceased talking her gaze seemed to be riveted 
on me. Directly her lashes drooped and she threw herself 
into my arms. For an instant I clasped her to me, bat the 
next moment my old motto to treat all women as I would 
have my own sister treated, came rushing into my mind. I 
was irresolute for a short time ; then I gently lifted and 
placed her in an armchair and changed the subject. Sup- 
pose I had accustomed myself to think and act as you 
say you do, Tom." 

"It was best for her and for me, too, that it was you." 
"Yes," said Paul, "I also am glad that it was not you, 
and that in hours of sober thought I had resolved never to 
wrong a trusting woman. The next evening, when alone 
with her, she said to me: 'Mr Essen, you are one of the 



CONDUCT TOWARD WOMEN 75 

noblest and best men living. Last night I allowed my 
feelings to overpower me. I now realize fully that it is 
wise to keep a strong restraint over one's self. I shall 
always be thankful that the hour of my weakness found 
me in the power of a pure-minded man. My gratitude 
will go out to you as long as I live,' and, Tom, I am sure 
that the lesson she learned then will be a blessing to her 
through all the years of her young womanhood. When I 
remember how grateful she was, it is a source of both 
pleasure and strength to me." 

Tom replied: "I have been accustomed to think that a 
man has a right to every privilege he can take with a 
woman; that it is his part to make the advances and hers 
to check him where she wants him to stop. I have enjoyed 
caressing one way and another many of those who accept- 
ed my attentions. But your illustration puts the case in a 
new light to me. The fact that you were her uncle's 
friend and guest led her to trust you very much, as she 
would have confided in him. It also put you on your honor 
not to abuse her reliance on you. I see now that there are 
various reasons for which a young woman may lay aside 
her reserve and which virtually places her companion on 
his manhood to defend her character. ' ' 

"More than that, Tom; she who favors you with her 
company, in that very act, grants you what she would 
deny a stranger. "Why? Because she thinks you are wor- 
thy of her confidence. You would not introduce a man 



76 STONES IN A LIFE 

of unscrupulous principles to one of your kinswomen. 
Nor do I think you would to any other lady. So, in 
truth, a man is honor bound to cherish the self-respect 
and good name of the one who accepts his company. And 
heaven gives a man no sweeter pleasure on earth than the 
society of a woman whom he believes to be as pure as the 
all-enveloping ether, and as true to the right as the earth 
is to her course about the sun. Belief in goodness both 
blesses and ennobles." 

"I agree with you in that, Paul. And I give you my 
word that from this hour the good name of the young 
woman whose company I keep, shall be as sacred to me 
as that of my sisters. ' ' 

"And you will find," said his friendly adviser, "that 
you will not only foster your own self-respect by such a 
course, but also realize the deepest peace of mind possi- 
ble for you. When one is and does what he knows is 
right, he is at one with himself. The spirit of such a per- 
son is in harmony with his Creator. Money cannot meas- 
ure the worth of the satisfaction that comes to him who 
has done no one a willful wrong." 



CHAPTER IX. 

FINANCIAL PROBLEM 

My last problem was scarcely solved when another, 
equally as serious, confronted me. This time it was the 
financial question and it threatened my school life. One 
evening I sat down in my room to figure up my expenses 
for the six months previous. I found that my board, room 
rent and the extra expense of changing schools, amounted 
to the startling figures of $160. I pondered long over 
these figures, wondering if I had not made some mistake. 
I found that six months out of twelve had passed, and the 
two hundred dollars which I had borrowed was almost ex- 
hausted. The $160 I had spent left me but with $40. I 
was in a quandary. If it had cost me $160 for the first six 
months, the great question was how was I to get through 
the other six on one-fourth of that amount? With the 
money I had left I found I could not stay in school longer 
than a month and a half. I knew something would have 
to be done at once. If I were to go home, the greater part 
of my work would have been for nothing, for I felt I had 
not been in school long enough to acquire the knowledge 



78 STONES IN A LIFE 

necessary to carry out my future plans. I knew I would 
have difficulty in securing work, except as a day laborer. 

I meditated long on the question. In an effort to relieve 
my mind, I picked up the latest number of the school 
journal, and as I glanced over the headlines one entitled, 
''Advice to the Young Man," caught my eye. I felt that 
I was in need of advice, and so began to read the article. 
The part which made an impression on my mind was as 
follows : 

* "Remember, my son, you have to work. Whether 
you handle a pick or a pen, a wheelbarrow or a set of 
books, digging ditches or editing papers, ringing an auc- 
tion bell, or writing funny things, you must work. If you 
look around you will see the men whom are the most able 
to live the rest of their days without work, are the men 
who worked the hardest. Don't be afraid of killing your- 
self with overwork. It is not in your power to do that on 
the sunny side of thirty. These hard workers die some 
times, but it is because they quit work at 6 p. m. and do 
not get home until 2 a. m. It is the interval that kills, 
my son. The work gives you an appetite for your meals, 
it lends solidity to your slumbers, it gives you a perfect 
and grateful appreciation of a holiday, 

"There are young men who do not work, but the world 
is not proud of them. It does not know their names even, 
it simply speaks of them as old So and So's boys. No- 

* From "Entertainment," by R. J. Burdette. 



FINANCIAL PROBLEM 79 

body likes them; the great busy world does not know that 
they are there. So find out what you want to be and do. 
Take off your coat and make a dust in the world. The 
busier you are the less harm you are apt to get into, the 
sweeter will be your sleep, the brighter and the happier 
your holiday and the better satisfied will the world be 
with you. ' ' 

I read the article again, and when I came to the last par- 
agraph I read it over several times. "There are young 
men who do not work. There are young men who do not 
work and the world is not proud of them." I wondered 
if I was included among these men. I had been in school 
six months I realized and had not earned a cent to help 
pay expenses. I had worked hard with my studies, but 
that was all. It appears to me that I should strive to do a 
little manual labor along with my other work, if only I 
could find something to do. I remembered my father's 
words of how I must not depend upon the other fellow if I 
intended to make a success. I must work at something, 
but I did not know what to do while at school. There 
was no gainsaying the fact that I was without money and 
that I had to do something, and as I pondered it occurred 
to me that some of the boys were working down town 
sweeping offices, dusting churches and running errands 
during their spare time, and I determined that on the mor- 
row I, too, would seek work. 

The next morning I set forth on my search for employ- 



80 STONES IN A LIFE 

ment. I applied for a position as janitor at three or four 
of the large churches, regardless of the fact that this posi- 
tion was usually considered a negro's work, but found no 
vacancies existing. I visited the offices of doctors, law- 
yers and business men, but without result. I tried for 
Saturday positions at the various stores, and went from 
factory to factory, from mill to mill, but my efforts were 
fruitless. I was resolved not to be discouraged, how- 
ever, and determined to continue my efforts. On my way 
back to the Normal it occurred to me that I might get a 
place on the janitor force at the school building. I decided 
to try. I went to the Manager of the building and told 
him of my desire for employment. He appeared surprised 
and asked me what sort of work I had in mind. I inform- 
ed him that I was ready to go ahead with anything which 
he might be able to give me. He seemed impressed with 
my story and told me to come to his office that evening 
and he would put me to work at $1.50 per week. I was 
glad to get even that. 

The appointed time found me ready to be instructed in 
my duties. The building was divided into sections, and 
each of the eleven janitors had a certain one to give his 
attention. To my great embarrassment I was assigned to 
the Auditorium section. The Auditorium being one of the 
most public places in the school, I feared I would be seen 
in overalls and jumper and I felt that I would hardly be 
able to stand having the more lucky students see me 



FINANCIAL PROBLEM 81 

swinging a dust pan and an old broom. But I had to 
work and it was my only chance, so with a bold front I 
set forth. Many a time I had to step into adjoining rooms 
when I saw a crowd of boys and girls coming down the 
hall, especially if I saw a certain girl was a member of the 
group. 

I remember one day in particular when I was greatly 
mortified by being a member of the janitor's force. I had 
applied to the Board of Directors of a certain village 
school, for the principalship. Two of the Directors called 
upon me in regard to this matter. They, through some 
misunderstanding, thinking me to be one of the teachers, 
called at the office and inquired of the President where 
they might find Professor Goldsmith. To be sure he knew 
nothing of the gentleman, and was about to tell them so 
when one of the other janitor boys who happened to be in 
the office, and thinking it a good joke on me interrupted. 
"I know where he is, he is on the fourth floor scrub — , " 
he began. 

"I beg your pardon," quickly interrupted the manager 
of the building, ''he is in his study room now. You gen- 
tlemen remain here and I. will tell him to come here and 
meet you." I being notified that I was wanted, threw my 
water pail and broom to one side and hurried down the 
rear stairway and around the back way to my room on the 
first floor. Here I quickly removed my old clothes and ar- 
rayed myself in my Sunday best before going to the office. 



82 STONES IN A LIFE 

I did not get the position, but I was glad, at least, that I 
had not gone in to meet the Directors in my working 
clothes. 

Another incident occurred during my days of janitor- 
ship which I shall never forget. I was busy sweeping in 
one of the recitation rooms one day when I heard my name 
mentioned in one of the adjoining rooms, and here let me 
confess, I listened. I detest a fellow who will listen to 
conversations not intended for him, but there are very few 
who will not do so when they expect to hear something 
about themselves. It was one of the students talking to a 
teacher, and I heard him say somewhat slurringly, "I see 
Mr. Goldsmith has become a janitor." 

"Yes," responded the teacher, "he has been at work 
for about two weeks." 

"I certainly would not like to do such work," continued 
the student, "and have the other boys and girls referring 
to me as a common worker." 

"Referring to you as a common worker, what do you 
mean?" replied this teacher. "If you mean to say that 
he is to be considered an inferior because he works, you 
are sadly mistaken. The world, with very few exceptions, 
admires such boys. I like to see girls and boys and men 
and women who are not afraid of work. It makes no 
difference whether or not they are compelled to do so. 
The rich boy should know how to work as well as the poor 
boy. They are the kind of people who make real men and 



FINANCIAL PROBLEM 83 

women. I seldom pass where Goldsmith or any of the 
other boys are sweeping without feeling a sense of admira- 
tion towards them. Sometimes I feel like stopping and 
assuring them that they will, in my estimation, be well 
paid in the future for their hard work. Do you know that 
some of the greatest men in the world have worked their 
way through college. It is the self made men who rule 
the world." 

This little eavesdropping proved of considerable benefit 
to me. It was one time that I received aid by listening to 
other people's affairs. I resolved never again to consider 
work a disgrace as I had done before. I found there were 
a certain number of my classmates who regarded me as a 
slave, but those that did I considered unworthy of my 
friendship and I passed them by unnoticed, for I felt that 
I was as good as they. I, too, remembered that many of 
the great men of this and past ages had worked their way 
through college. I remembered hearing my high school 
superintendent tell how he and his brother had made their 
way through college. They had more to contend with 
than I, for they had an old father and mother to care for. 
Because of this they could not both be in school at one 
time, so one stayed at home one year to cultivate the 
grain and cotton, care for the old folks and pay the 
other's expenses. The following year the one that was in 
school the year before would tend to the farm while the 



84 STONES IN A LIFE 

other attended school, and this they continued until their 
graduation. 

I remember, too, reading the life works of A. D. Wil- 
liams, D. D., ex-President of Oakland City College. He 
did not enter school until he was almost a man when he 
had to walk more than one hundred miles to the school 
and arrived with less than 50 cents in his pockets with 
which to carry him through college. It may seem improba- 
ble to say that such a small sum of money was- sufficient 
to carry a boy through school, but Mr. Williams succeeded 
in doing so. He earned the greater part of his expense 
money sawing wood for one of the Professors, receiving 
as a remuneration the sum of six and a half cents an hour. 
I realized that the broom was more preferable to the saw. 
After considering the hard times these men and others, 
prominent in literature, politics and other walks of life, 
had, and comparing their opportunities to mine, I decided 
that I should be thankful for my chances, lowly though 
they might be. Having arrived at this stage I felt proud 
that I was working my way through school. 

I found, however, that my being reconciled to working 
was not helping me very much financially, for I discovered 
that my salary at the rate of $1.50 per week and the re- 
mainder of my $40 would not be sufficient to see me 
through the rest of the term, so I decided to find some 
other way in which to increase my income. Fortune ap- 
peared to favor me, for the boy who acted as agent at the 



FINANCIAL PROBLEM 85 

Normal for one of the leading steam laundries, left school, 
and his office was turned over to me. This duty did not 
conflict with my other work. It was a little more disa- 
greeable than the janitor work, for I was compelled to col- 
lect and deliver on foot the clothes. It wasn 't uncommon to 
see me coming down the street with a bundle of soiled 
linen on my back, but I did not care for appearances as 
long as it was paying me from $1.50 to $2.00 per week. 
Between these two duties my income was more than $3.00 
per week, and after deducting my weekly expenses from 
this sum I oftimes had as much as 50 or 75 cents left. This 
appeared a huge sum to me, and instead of my little sum 
diminishing it began to increase. Discouragements were 
no longer in my way, and everything seemed to point to 
my future success. 



CHAPTER X. 

VALUE OF AN EDUCATION 

Along with the financial question, another boyish ques- 
tion was lingering in my mind. I had begun to wonder if 
there was as much real value in education as is generally 
considered. Before coming to a final conclusion on this 
point, I wrote President Dearing of Oakland City College, 
a man who always seemed to take much interest in my 
welfare, inquiring of him the real worth of an education 
and asking advice and words of encouragement. I re- 
ceived in reply the following letter, which served as a 
means to spur me on to greater hope of success : 

"Mr. William Goldsmith, Springfield, Mo.: 

"My Dear Mr. Goldsmith — I am in receipt of your let- 
ter asking advice on the problem of your education. 
Allow me to thank you, my boy, for the confidence you 
express in me in this matter. I assure you I shall speak 
straight from my heart only those things I should recom- 
mend to my own son. I must ask that the value and 



88 STONES IN A LIFE 

importance of your education be considered apart from 
the difficulties and hardships just now pressing upon you. 
I fear you are inclined to be discouraged because of these 
difficulties, and to let this discouragement depreciate your 
estimate of the value of the thing sought. Beware of this 
feeling for it is close kin to the old cry of 'sour grapes' 
when we think the clusters are above our reach. It will 
be of immediate practical value to you to read the biogra- 
phies of eminent men, especially the first chapters in 
which their early struggles are related and the closing 
retrospective chapters, in which you will almost invariably 
find them attributing a large part of their success to the 
lessons learned in the school of adversity. Adversity does 
not mean failure, but when rightly met spells success. I 
have dwelt at length upon this point because it is vital to 
you and thousands of other young men in your condition. 
' ' To wish you were the son of a rich man and dream of 
what you would do if you were, is the height of folly ; for 
such extravagant dreaming only makes you feel the more 
uncomfortable in your present circumstances, and no 
amount of such longing can change the stern reality of 
your surroundings. Even if by some magic power you 
could transplant yourself into the lap of luxury and 
wealth, you would only lessen the chances of success, for 
hot house plants are very rare in the circle of eminence. 
If you do not have the force of will to push on and win out 
when the obstacles in your way are the absence of money 



VALUE OF EDUCATION 89 

and the presence of work, you may rest assured you would 
not press forward when the obstacles were the absence of 
work and the presence of money. 

"Coming now to the intrinsic value of education itself 
as a motive to securing it, I shall say at the outset that much 
depends upon our conception of what education is. If it 
is only an external commodity for sale in the school mar- 
kets, a package of facts and information valuable in run- 
ning certain businesses, then just as in the case of a type- 
writer or an adding machine, its value is purely commer- 
cial and is to be determined by the contribution it makes 
to the success of the business. 

"I frankly admit that such a conception of education is 
wholly unsatisfactory to me. Education is internal and 
vital, not external and convenient. The education of the 
human being in its broadest sense is that process of growth, 
development and training by which the human body, 
mind and spirit are brought approximately to the possi- 
bilities of their destiny as determined not by the arbitrary 
plans of others, but by the innate principles of the person 
concerned. 

' ' To illustrate : a rose bush and a blackberry briar may 
be planted side by side in the same soil, they may be tend- 
ed by the same gardener and the same hoe, they may be 
kissed by the same warm sunshine and bathed by the same 
showers ; but in the end the gardener will pluck from one 
a bouquet of gorgeous American Beauty roses and from 



90 STONES IN A LIFE 

the other he will pick blackberries for a pie. Their desti- 
nies were written by nature in the briars and by the pro- 
cess of their education at the hands of the skillful gard- 
ener, they arrived at that destiny. Anything short of that 
result would have been a dwarfing of their possibilities. 
Similarly the destiny of man is written in his constitution, 
and is a prophecy of what nature intends him to be. 

"This is plainly evident and generally admitted in the 
case of physical education or the development of the 
human body. A parent would be considered criminal and 
would be dealt with if he would dwarf his boy's body by 
starvation or injurious labor. No boy would willingly 
consent to have his growth so stunted as to fall two feet 
below his possible height and thus be classed as a dwarf. 
Eegardless of its relation to the business he may wish to 
pursue, he feels it is his divine, God-given right to stand 
six feet high and broad shouldered, if the stock of his an- 
cestry has bequeathed to him that destiny. 

"From this you can see in a nut shell my conception of 
intellectual education or schooling, its importance and its 
value. The day will come when it will be considered more 
criminal for parents to bring a child into the world and 
then dwarf his mind by lack of education, than it is today 
if they dwarf and stunt his body. In that day the boy will 
more bitterly resent the idea of having his mind dwarfed 
than of having his body dwarfed today. In that day it 
will be more disgraceful for a boy to be willing to stop 



VALUE OF EDUCATION 91 

short of mental maturity on account of toil and difficulty, 
than it is today if he is willing to stop the growth of his 
body because it takes labor to get bread. 

"From my standpoint, then, you see, education is simply 
the process of maturing the mind, which is an important 
part of the man, and to consent to go without it means to 
sign a contract to be less than a man. I trust your self- 
respect and appreciation of the possibilities God has put 
within you, will not permit you to make any such dis- 
graceful contract. 

"This is the vital meaning and value of education but 
because man and the world were made for each other and 
because he is the great reconstructive architect of the 
world, the greater the man the greater his power and in- 
fluence in the worid. Hence, we may logically expect edu- 
cation to have an apparent effect on a man's success in the 
world of achievement. In this we are not disappointed. 
Statistics gathered carefully by a prominent educator give 
us the following startling figures: 

" 'To complete the eight grades of the common school 
multiplies one 's chance of winning eminent success by four, 
to complete a four year high school course multiplies it 
again by twenty-three, to complete a four year college 
course multiplies it again by nine. Or the three courses 
taken together increase one's chances 828 times.' These 
figures are too eloquent to need comment as they show the 
value of the education secured by completing the custom- 



92 STONES IN A LIFE 

ary courses, which long experience has shown, furnish the 
elements of a liberal education. 

' ' I hope these thoughts may encourage you to press for- 
ward to the goal, for knowing you as I do, I cannot believe 
you can be satisfied with being anything less than a man or 
doing anything less than a man's work, and for both of 
these your education is absolutely necessary, if that man 
is to be the potential man which nature has bequeathed to 
you. 

" Confidently expecting to hear of your success, I beg 
to remain, sincerely yours. (Signed) 

"William Prentice Dearing." 



CHAPTER XI. 

CHRISTIAN WORK IN SCHOOL; DOES IT PAY 
TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 

When I entered the new Normal I found the young 
men's weekly Bible class in progress and at once enrolled. 
The City Y. M. C. A. sent a man to meet with us each 
Thursday evening for the purpose of instructing us in the 
Bible. Week after week about twelve or thirteen of us 
boys met in the library to systematically study the Bible. 
Our system was to take a text from the Bible and prepare 
our lesson as we did in the regular school course. The 
program for these Bible evenings consisted of songs, pray- 
ers and the regular Bible lesson. Having had a few addi- 
tional members to the class before the end of the first 
term, we decided to hold a series of prayer meetings after 
supper each evening, for a week. The attendance at the 
first two or three meetings was small, and the boys were 
backward in taking part, especially in the matter of 
speaking and praying. But we, who were more interested, 
resolved that the meetings should not die, and so the day 



94 STONES IN A LIFE 

before the fourth gathering we not only announced the 
meeting in chapel and on the bulletin board but invited 
each boy personally in the school to attend. 

The plan worked splendidly, forty being present when 
the meeting began. The first hymn, "Savior Wash Me in 
the Blood," was sung by every voice in the room. When 
the first prayer was called I saw heads bowed that I knew 
had not bowed since they left their mother's knee. The 
leader for the evening seemed to be inspired from above. 
Never before nor since have I heard as an appropriate talk 
from an inexperienced speaker. He compared in a beau- 
tiful way the sinners who were present to the prodigal 
son out in the world striving to come back to his father. 
His words appeared to melt the hearts of every one in the 
room. The speaker closed his discourse by inviting every 
boy who felt he was a prodigal and wanted to return to his 
father, to come forward while the other boys sang, "I 
Want to Be a Worker for the Lord. ' ' The invitation was 
accepted by four of the boys, while others I knew felt that 
they should go, but they listened to the Satan who was 
saying, "Don't go." 

The next day the young men's prayer meeting was the 
topic of conversation. The start we had hoped for had 
come at last and the prospects were very bright. At the 
close of the week interest in the meetings was so high that 
we were compelled to continue our little revival. Each 



DOES IT PA Y TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 95 

evening a subject was assigned to one of the boys, who 
was to be the leader and who was to lead in the speaking. 

The evening came for me to lead, and I was given the 
subject, "Why I Am a Christian." During my little talk 
I tried to tell the boys why I was a Christian from two 
standpoints. First, from a worldly standpoint, and sec- 
ondly from a Bible standpoint. Not having had much 
experience in public speaking, I felt that my discourse 
would prove disinteresting, but I felt it my duty to make 
an effort, so with a few notes and the BiVle in hand I 
began : 

"Boys, before I begin the subject, I wish to say in way 
of apology that I have none further thati to say that you 
all know me well, only a plain young fellow with but little 
experience along this line, therefore, I hope you will ex- 
pect from me nothing more than a dull talk, but as I was 
appointed leader for tonight I shall do my best to en- 
lighten you on this subject. I have taken the liberty to 
divide the subject into two parts. First, why I am a 
Christian from a worldly standpoint ; secondly, why I am 
a Christian from the Bible standpoint. 

"In the discussion of the first division of my subject I 
have no use whatever for the Bible, and so will lay it 
aside. I want to prove to you that if the soul were mortal 
we would still gain on this earth by being Christians. I 
want to prove to you that we receive ample pay for leading 
a Christian life, granting, for the sake of argument, that 



96 STONES IN A LIFE 

the Bible 's heaven and hell did not exist. Let ns see what 
it means to be a Christian. Does it mean to cast yourself 
into exile, so to speak, like the monks of ancient times, 
who must not meet anyone with a smile or smile yourself? 
No. Does it mean for you to do as the ancients did, lance 
yourself with knives that you might shed blood and suffer 
for the remission of your sins ? No, boys, it does not mean 
any of these things. Does it mean, then, that we should 
absent ourselves from the joyful gatherings at our homes, 
or not have a good time ourselves? No, not that. It 
means to do right. Can we not do right and still be a 
Christian? I have met some people who thought that in 
order to be true Christians they were compelled to go 
through this world with a long' face, their appearance as 
gruff and sour as an old vinegar jug. 

* ' To be sure all people have a right to their own opinion, 
but this is far from my opinion of the make-up of a Chris- 
tian man. When I think of a Christian man I generally 
think of a man who is happy or enjoying himself, a man 
who attends to his own business and lets other people's 
affairs alone. A man who carries a smile for every one he 
meets, and is ever ready to give them words of encourage- 
ment if they are down-hearted. A man who will attend 
weekly pleasure meetings so long as they are of an inno- 
cent nature, and when they become so vile and corrupt 
that he would not care for his sister or mother to be 
present, he will refuse and state frankly the reasons for 



DOES IT PA Y TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 97 

his refusal. You may think you will be ridiculed for 
leaving your friends just at that moment when perhaps 
the greatest event is to come, but this is a great mistake. 
They may at the time deride you, but later they will re- 
spect and honor you. On the other hand the more cul- 
tured people will say, 'There is a manly man.' 

"I remember once of hearing a story told of a certain 
college foot ball team, which went to a town in another 
state to play a game. This team was hopelessly defeated, 
and that its members might still come out winners, they 
decided to carry away enough booty from their opponents 
and from the hotel to repay them for their loss. As the 
result of this decision all of the boys except one were ar- 
rested for taking such articles from the hotel as silver 
spoons, napkins, cream pitchers and pepper boxes, articles 
which were of no value to them whatever, and which they 
really did not mean to steal, only wanted to have a little 
fun, they said. The one boy who did not take part in the 
thefts not only refused to participate himself, but insisted 
that the others should not do so. His comrades called him 
a coward then, but later they were sorry that they had not 
been cowards themselves. This young man was a manly 
man; he had the qualities of a Christian. It makes no 
difference whether or not he belonged to a church. He 
was not only honored and respected by the faculty of the 
school and the student body, but by all who heard or read 
of the affair. 



98 STONES IN A LIFE 

"Suppose a letter should come, as is of times the case, 
to the President of the school, calling for a young man to 
fill a position of some kind, and there are only two young 
men in the school prepared to fill the required position, 
the one that proved himself honest on the foot ball team, 
the other, one of his comrades who participated in the 
thefts. Will the President hesitate or wait for a few days 
to consider which boy to send? No, he will, without con- 
sideration, send the boy who was considered a coward on 
the day of the foot ball game. 

"The following little story, which came under my per- 
sonal observation, will show you that Christian men are 
wanted all over the world. A young man sent his applica- 
tion to the Board of Directors of a certain village school, 
asking for the principalship. The young man being a 
stranger to the Board, was asked to meet with the mem- 
bers in person. The President was such a weak man it 
appeared that he could not express his thoughts without 
the use of some vile oath. Before the meeting the young- 
ster had a short conversation with the President, during 
which time almost every sentence the President uttered 
was accompanied by an oath. After the meeting had 
been called and questions of all sorts asked the youth, the 
President frankly asked him if he took part in any kind 
of church work and if he were a Christian. The young 
man, recalling the language of the President, presumed 
that he was bitterly opposed to the church, feared that the 



DOES IT PA Y TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 99 

truth might prevent his getting the position. Nevertheless, 
he determined to tell the truth, and stated frankly that in 
addition to being a teacher, he was a Christian not only 
in name but that he worked at his trade. He said that he 
took part in Sunday School work, attended church regu- 
larly and did not object to the Bible being brought into 
the school room. The young man was asked to retire, and 
in five minutes was called in to sign a contract. The next 
day he asked the President why it was that he wished a 
Christian at the head of the school, when he himself did 
not take any part whatever in any church work. 

" 'It is true I do not take part in any church work my- 
self,' said the President, 'but I want my children to be 
Christians. I would never be in favor of placing a man 
at the head of our school who was not a Christian. More 
than that, I have a store across the street in which I try to 
keep Christian clerks. I have oftimes refused to hire men 
who were not Christians and took in those who were, for 
they are trustworthy.' 

''This shows that not only more positions are open to 
Christian men and women, but that even a man who is a 
sinner and is not connected with a church, wants Christ- 
like men to help him to do his work. By the laws of 
nature, every man must worship something, and the same 
laws say for men to worship a Supreme Ruler, but all men 
do not do the latter. Some worship gold, some honor, 
some horses, some tobacco, some strong drink and some 



100 STONES IN A LIFE 

themselves. Man being the most highly developed being, 
must necessarily place himself on a lower station than the 
things he worships, if they be included in those I just men- 
tioned.' 

"As a man always tries to live as near as possible to the 
things he worships, he is constantly degrading himself 
instead of advancing himself, but if a man worships a 
being that is superior to himself — and there is only one, 
God — he naturally elevates himself in order to be like his 
God. These points are self evident to every one when you 
compare the disposition of the average church man to that 
of the average sinner. The former is kind, friendly and 
pleasing to wife, brother and sister, and the latter as a 
general thing is the opposite. 

"What attitude do our professional men take in regard 
to this question? Do we find successful merchants who 
are not Christians or do not take part in church work? 
Very few; the majority of successful merchants are either 
Christian men or are sincere admirers of godliness. Show 
me a successful teacher and I will show you a Christian 
man. Show me a successful lawyer, and nine times out of 
ten you will show me a man who is ever ready to promote 
Christianity. Show me a man who is true to his country, 
who would die for his country, who would boldly rush 
out in front of the enemy's rifles, wrap the stars and 
stripes around the victim who was to be shot and step 
back and say, ' shoot if you dare, ' and I at once point out 



DOES IT PA Y TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 101 

to you a true Christian. Show me an orator of note and 
I will show you a Christian man. Point out to me a suc- 
cessful statesman and you will point out to me a Chris- 
tian. Our Judges are Christians, our Governors are Chris- 
tians and our Presidents are Christians. 

"Will it pay us to be Christians, granting that we will 
receive no reward except on this earth. Boys, there are 
hundreds of other rewards which we receive on this earth 
for being Christians, but when I open the Bible and read 
of the great rewards which we are to receive after all of 
our life work is ended, I can then use the exact words of 
the Queen of Sheba in the days of old, ' The half has never 
yet been told.' 

"In viewing Christianity from the Bible standpoint, I 
will say the reason I am a Christian is because the Bible 
teaches me that all must die, for death is a reaper that 
leaves no sheaves ungathered. It comes to every heart as 
the most solemn event connected with man's life. Many 
efforts have been made to divest man of his death, but all 
efforts have failed and death still reigns, and man is in 
bondage through fear of death. Almost every man has a 
natural fear of death, even devout Christians. We do not 
like to handle a viper, though all of its poison be extracted. 
Christ himself feared death, or rather dreaded to leave 
this earth. Three times before his death he prayed, 'Oh, 
my Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me, 
nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt.' The man who 



102 STONES IN A LIFE 

does not fear death and never thinks of death is lost to all 
moral sensibility, and is dead even while yet he lives. The 
natural fear of death causes us to look upon it as a great 
monster or a very dark shadow, but when death is dis- 
robed by the spirit of God and viewed in the light of reve- 
lation, it brings joy to the soul. 

"Death is the separation of the soul and the body. The 
body becomes silent and can no longer perform its func- 
tions and is left a tenement of clay to crumble into ruins, 
while the soul returns home to God. 'Then shall the dust 
return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return to 
God who gave it.' This shows the end of the physical 
strength and the destiny of the soul. In the Bible the body 
is compared to a tent or house and the soul to the occu- 
pants, and when this body or house is destroyed the soul 
moves into an imperishable mansion of everlasting happi- 
ness or everlasting damnation. Which will be your 
home? We should strive to reach that mansion of ever- 
lasting happiness, for we know that if our earthly house 
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of 
God, a house not made with hands eternal in the Heav- 
ens. 

' ' Sleep illustrates very appropriately the changing from 
a natural life to life eternal. Christ, in speaking of Laza- 
rus being dead, said, 'He sleepeth.' When we are tired 
and wearied from our daily work, sleep is refreshing to 
us. So it is with our life. When we are tired of the walks 



DOES IT PA Y TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 103 

of this life we will lie down and sleep until our soul is 
carried to the everlasting rest. It is a glorious thought 
that the Christian will wake in the joys of eternal bliss. 
This same sleep, or the changing from the natural to the 
eternal life, is represented as going on a long journey.' 

"Paul said, 'Having a desire to depart to be with Christ, 
which is far better ... I am now ready to be offered, and 
the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good 
fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. 
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me 
at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also 
that love his appearing. ' It is more of a pleasant thought 
than a sad one for a Christian to think of friends and loved 
ones who have already made this journey, who are now in 
our Father 's house where there are many mansions. Christ 
did not intend that we should think of our past loved ones 
with a feeling of regret and sorrow. While speaking to 
His disciples before He made this great journey He said, 
'Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, be- 
lieve also in me — . ' 

"A certain young lady while on her deathbed said, 
speaking in reference to death, 'Mother, do not weep for 
me, for I am only going to see papa and brother. I am 
sure they will be glad to see me. When I get there, we 
three will wait for you. ' 

"My friends, when I think of so many beautiful prom- 



104 STONES IN A LIFE 

ises God has given us, and the hundreds of dying testimo- 
nials of true Christians, it appears that death is robbed of 
its terrors and we are inspired with a heart of hope, joy 
and peace. The Bible says, (Rom. 5:12) The origin of 
death is sin. This being true, the question arises, was this 
world destined to be man's permanent home? We have 
no records to which we can go in search of an answer to 
this, but I am of the opinion it was not, for man being 
made in the image of God was destined for a higher and 
nobler life. And with his ability to increase in knowledge, 
this world would not give scope for his expansion, but in 
Heaven our knowledge will expand and we will know 
more about God in that perfect day. 

"What God did for Enoch and Elijah on earth, he will 
do for the Christian in the resurrection. So we see that 
death or a change to its equivalent is necessary for our 
full development. When the child of God passes through 
the valley of the shadow of death, the veil that intervenes 
between us and Heaven will be removed as it was in the 
day of transfiguration when Peter recognized Moses and 
Elias. But this glory is withheld from us while in this 
flesh, for 'Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of 
God.' But bless God, when we are born of God and free 
from the great clutches of sin, we may rejoice in the hope 
of the glory of God and with old Simeon say, 'Now, 
Lord, let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have 
seen the salvation of the Lord.' " 



CHAPTER XII. 

CHRISTIAN WORK IN SCHOOL; BENEFITS OF 
Y. M. C A. WORK 

Our little revival was carried on for about two weeks, 
during which time a number of the boys were led to 
Christ. The majority of them were not only ready but 
anxious to do something to further the Christian work of 
the school. There being such a number interested and the 
weekly Bible class not being sufficient to satisfy all, it was 
decided to organize a school Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation. About a half dozen of the boys set to work to 
bring about an organization, under the direction of the 
City Y. M. C. A., and about forty young men signed as 
charter members. I had the honor of being one of the 
first officers, having been elected President pro tern and 
later Secretary for a time. 

We held our religious meetings once a week, and the 
President of the association endeavored to make them as 
interesting as possible, by getting members of the faculty 
and able speakers from the city to address the gatherings. 



106 STONES IN A LIFE 

In a few weeks we decided to organize three Bible classes, 
in order to awaken greater interest in the work. The 
committee in charge of this work divided the section of 
the city in which the school was located, and where most 
of the students roomed, into three divisions, Northern, 
Central and Southern. All of the boys residing north of 
the school were expected to enroll in the northern section 
and attended the classes which were held in a rooming 
house in that division. In a like manner those south of the 
Normal were to be in the southern section, while the Cen- 
tral division included only the young men who resided in 
the rooming departments of the school building. 

As it was impossible to get three teachers from the par- 
ent body, the City Y. M. C. A., the executive committee 
decided to choose teachers from among our own boys. 
I was chosen teacher for the Central division, or 
what was generally known as the Normal class. Most of 
the boys of this section enrolled with this class and did all 
they could to help with the work. 

My roommate, however, a young man of high moral 
standing, peculiar as it may seem, not only refused to take 
part in the weekly Bible study, but completely ignored 
the T. M. C. A. work, claiming he could not see what was 
to be gained by membership in the organization. One 
evening when I had returned from the class he remarked 
banteringly, "Well, Goldy, you have been out later than 
usual, did you do those fellows any good?." 



Y.M. C.A. WORK 107 

"I do not know whether we directly accomplished any 
great good," I replied, "but I can assure you, Tom, if you 
had been there we would not have done you any harm." 

"Goldy," he retorted, "if you Will prove to me that 
there is enough to be gained in the Y. M. C. A. to make up 
for the time spent attending its services, working with 
committees and the thousand other things you fellows do, 
I will gladly join the work with you. I really cannot see 
what good can be derived from the work. I will admit I 
belong to the City Y. M. C. A., but my only object in join- 
ing was to get that free bath once a week." 

"Tom," I replied, "if you will not be unreasonable and 
agree to help us out in this work, which is to elevate the 
moral standard of this school, I will try to point out to you 
a few of the benefits to be derived from membership in 
either the school or City Y. M. A. C. organizations. 

"As one who has been a worker in the ranks of the 
Young Men's Christian Association, both in school and 
local work, I cannot speak too highly of the benefits that 
attach to membership in this great organization, the prac- 
tical workings of which can be seen not only in every 
town however large or small that is fortunate enough to 
have a good Y. M. C. A., but in and around our own 
school. Although this organization is only two or three 
months old, and the true workings of the intended organi- 
zation are conducted on a small scale, the effect is appar- 
ent to all who have given the matter any thought or no- 



108 STONES IN A LIFE 

tice. Notice, for example, the workings of the committee 
known by ns as the committee for new students. The 
President of the school notifies the chairman of this com- 
mittee of the arrival of any new student, and he sends one 
or two of his men to meet this stranger at the station to 
direct him to the Normal, where he is assisted in the meet- 
ing of every student possible. If the new student has not 
yet engaged a room he is directed to the Y. M. C. A. room- 
ing committee, who is not only prepared to direct him to 
a number of good rooms that are for rent, but has several 
rooms in its own charge/ 

"At the beginning of this term almost every room that 
was for rent in this addition of the city, was turned over 
to this committee, who were very successful in the locating 
of the two or three hundred new students that came in. I 
heard the President say that if this committee had not 
helped in the management of these rooms, he did not see 
how it would have been possible to have located all of the 
new students. Tom, place yourself in the position of some 
of these new students, two or three hundred miles away 
from home and not an acquaintance in the school. Would 
you have been glad to have been met at the station by half 
a dozen friendly young men, who were ready and anxious 
to place you in the ranks of the society of the best students 
in the school, or would it have pleased you better to have 
paid some one to direct you to the school, there secure a 
room the best way you could and spend the first two or 



Y.M. C.A. WORK 109 

three months trying to form the acquaintance of a few of 
the students?' 

"But these and a hundred other material benefits and 
advantages, although I consider them the life of a school, 
sink into oblivion when we think of the moral benefits of 
this little organization in a school. If a young man, who 
has been accustomed to take part in church work or any 
organization of moral uplifting, should enter a school void 
of such organizations and be thrown into idleness so far 
as this point is concerned, he would naturally drift back- 
wards and forget his duties towards God. And this sense 
of duty, which is the keynote to success, being gone, he 
might, as is often the case, fall into the worship of idle- 
ness and pleasure, and later turn to be a wholly bad man. 
The object then of the Y. M. C. A. along- this line is two 
fold and can be brought out clearly in the two slang 
expressions "to line up" — if a man is not accustomed in 
this direction before he enters school, to try to place him in 
the work; second "to keep in line" — if a man is already in 
the work, this organization is to encourage him to continue 
while in the school. 

"It is at the close of the school year of the young man 
that the local Y. M. C. A. organization steps in with its 
work of man building. When a young man has com- 
pleted his schooling and starts to make his own way in 
the world, he finds himself a marked man to the extent 
that greater temptations are offered him. At every angle 



110 STONES IN A LIFE 

of the pathway of business or professional life, he hears 
allurements and hears the Siren songs that would lure him 
on to fatal shoals that are lined with wrecked lives, were 
he not strengthened with the knowledge of good and evil 
and what proper living means. The Y. M. C. A. of this 
country not only furnishes this knowledge, but gives the 
young man a good moral training. This old world is sadly 
lacking in morals and any institution that makes it a prac- 
tice to invest the young men of this nation with a solid 
foundation composed of good morals, is an institution to 
be commended to all men. Without morals the nation 
would totter, without morals decency would be danger- 
ous, without morals the world would be a pit of seething, 
boiling evil, and men of conscience and possessed of up- 
rightness would be engulfed and crime would reign para- 
mount. 

"The Young Men's Christian Association is one of the 
safety valves that protect the nation and the world from 
such a terrible disaster. So I say, that an institution that 
works along such lines, is deserving of great praise and 
should have the support of every individual who is in 
sympathy with such work. I know from my acquaintance 
with the Y. M. C. A. and its sincere workers, that it is ac- 
complishing great good. All young men who become 
members of such an institution are taking a step in the 
right direction — in the direction of decency, that goes to- 
wards the making of good citizens. There is naught in 



Y.M. C.A. WORK 111 

the teachings of the Young Men's Christian Association 
that does not speak for good and upright living. 

"The young man about to enter the world of business 
and who has had the benefits of Y. M. C. A. work, cannot 
but find himself more fully qualified for the battles which 
ensue. The experience to be gained in such an association 
as that of the one under discussion, is an asset to every 
young man, and it is the man of many assets who finds 
life's pathway less rough and the temptations that lie 
along the way more easy to overcome. 

"And remember the intellectual side of the Y. M. C. A. 
is not an insignificant matter to be considered. The large 
libraries, reading rooms and prominent lectures add to the 
intellectual uplifting of those members who partake of 
them. And the Y. M. C. A.'s night school gives an op- 
portunity to thousands of poor working men and boys, 
who otherwise would remain in total ignorance, to acquire 
a great amount of useful knowledge. 

"Then there is the physical side of the institution, 
which must not be overlooked. It encourages all manly 
exercises that goes toward the development of the body 
by aiding nature in her work of making manly men. It 
is true that the world has produced men of frail bodies 
possessing wonderful brains, the fruit of which has been 
a great help to humanity, but our greatest men have been 
possessors of healthy bodies. A healthy body is conducive 
to good thinking. 



112 STONES IN A LIFE 

"The development of the body is one of the main feat- 
ures of Y. M. C. A. work, and the founder of this great 
institution was farseeing when he introduced this depart- 
ment, for he realized that healthy bodies beget healthy 
minds, and healthy minds healthy thoughts and actions. 
In the early days of our country there was not such need 
for an organization that would build up healthy bodies as 
there is at the present day. In the days of our grand- 
fathers and even our fathers, conditions were such that 
physical strength was an asset belonging to every man 
because of the lives they led. Out in the forests chop- 
ping trees and clearing land, the bodies of the pioneers 
were built on Samsonlike lines. Street cars were un- 
known and men walked. It was not necessary for them 
to engage in exercises in gymnasiums to strengthen their 
bodies. 

"Conditions have changed, however, life is now lived 
at a strenuous gait. Men are too busy in the marts and 
skyscrapers trying to make fortunes, to think about their 
physical being. The street cars save time and so walking 
is not indulged in so much. Men who formerly lived in 
God's out-of-door have crowded into the big cities in their 
search for wealth, and in the metropolises of the country 
they fill their lungs with smoke and dust, and sacrifice 
their physical being unthinkingly. But now that the Y. 
M. C. A. has extended its work into almost every town and 
city of the country, things have taken a turn for the bet- 



Y. M. C. A. WORK 113 

ter. The toiler in the soot and smoke of the metropolis 
can now care for his physical makeup by becoming a mem- 
ber of a Y. M. C. A., where, in the gymnasium, he can take 
the necessary exercise to keep his body up to the standard 
demanded by nature. 

"This work of the Y. M. C. A. in itself is sufficient to 
commend it to all manly men as an institution- that makes 
manly men. There is nothing it does that is not for the 
betterment of its members. A man does not take any 
chances in joining such an organization as that of a city 
or school Y. M. C. A., for it is not a gamble. To use a 
slang expression of the race track it is a 'sure thing.' It 
develops men morally, mentally and physically, and what 
more can be asked than that a man be the possessor of 
these three qualities?" 

"I am fully convinced," Tom earnestly replied, "that 
a fellow gains by being either a member of a school or 
city Y. M. C. A. I did not intend to take so much of your 
time, nor expect you to make a real speech, but I believe 
I have been benefited by it. You have given me a number 
of points that I had never before thought of. As I have 
made it a practice to get into the right when some one 
proves to me that I am in the wrong, I am compelled to 
give you my name for membership in the school Y. M. CL 
A., and when I return to my home town I expect to join 
the local organization." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

EMILY; OR "PUPPY LOVE" 

There comes a time in the lives of all boys and girls, too, 
when they have what they believe to be affections of the 
heart, but which older heads have termed "Puppy love." 
I had an experience with puppy love that I believe I 
should chronicle, inasmuch as I am making this a truthful 
account of my career. 

One day a crowd of city girls paid a visit to the Normal, 
and I was informed the following day that one of the girls 
seemed to take special notice of me. She was a beautiful 
girl with auburn hair and had picked me out of a crowd 
of boys and asked one of my friends for my name, stating 
she would like to become acquainted with me. I tried to 
remember every pretty girl who had visited the school 
during the month but could not quite place the one whom 
I had been told wished to meet me. I found out where she 
lived, however, and made it convenient to pass her home 
one evening. 



116 STONES IN A LIFE 

My blood began to circulate at a rapid rate when I 
caught a glimpse of her standing at the window. The pic- 
ture made a wonderful impression on my boyish mind. At 
once I began to think of angels as I looked upon her beauti- 
ful face and auburn hair, shining brightly between the cur- 
tains on the window. I could hardly believe it possible 
that such a charming girl was anxious to meet me. That 
night, I must confess, I had dreams of a girl with auburn 
hair. Every day when I had an opportunity, I made it my 
business to walk by her home ever hoping to be greeted 
with a smile. 

Time passed and we had not met but I was not to be 
discouraged. My opportunity came about a month later. 
A reception was announced, to be given by the young men 
of the school, in honor of the young ladies. About 150 of 
the boys voted a tax of 50 cents each upon themselves, to 
pay the expenses of entertaining the fair guests. Refresh- 
ments and music had been arranged for, and everyone was 
preparing for a good time. I was in trouble for the com- 
mittee on invitations had decided not to invite any girls 
other than those attending the Normal. 

I had done my part towards preparing for the reception, 
having served faithfully on several of the committees, 
and I was disappointed to think Emily could not attend. 
I was in a quandary for it was but two months until the 
close of the term, and I knew if I did not meet the girl of 
my heart it was unlikely I should ever have the oppor- 



EMILY 117 

tunity to form her acquaintance later. I finally hit upon a 
plan that worked splendidly. I went to the invitation 
committee and confessed my trouble. After some discus- 
sion they agreed to invite Emily if I should pay 50 cents 
extra. This I was only too glad to do, for I was badly 
affected with "puppy love," and puppy love will out. 

I made arrangements with one of my boy friends to see 
that the introduction was properly made, but this was not 
necessary, for she had chosen as her companion the night 
of the reception, one of my nearest girl friends. We were 
introduced without any trouble, and two glad hearts being 
brought together we seated ourselves in a quiet place to 
further the acquaintance. The thousands of words I had 
planned to say to her failed me, and she was compelled to 
lead the conversation for some time, but before the even- 
ing had passed my talkativeness returned. 

The evening passed only too quickly but I soon found 
myself asking Emily if I might attend her home, and my 
heart throbbed when she assured me that my company 
would please her much. It was an enjoyable walk that 
stroll to her home, and we talked about the beautiful moon, 
the shining stars and the small clouds that drifted silently 
across the arc of night. The night recalled to her mind 
the romance in the latest novel which she had been read- 
ing, and when she asked me how I liked the latest novel 
I assured her that I thought it grand and at once changed 



118 STONES IN A LIFE 

the subject, fearing she would question me as to the de- 
tails, for I had never heard of the book. 

At the door I requested to be allowed to call again and 
I held her hand until she gave an answer. Her assurance 
that my company was agreeable to her made me walk on 
air on my way back to the school. During the remaining 
weeks of the school term I divided my time between 
Emily and my books. Then came vacation and I began 
to prepare for home, parents and friends, whom I had not 
seen for a number of months. It was a pleasant vacation 
for me. I helped father on the farm and attended to his 
business while he was away engaged in revival work, and 
the change from indoor to outdoor work made me stronger 
and I felt like a different fellow. 

I must confess, however, the greater part of my thoughts 
were given to Emily. Every few days there was an inter- 
change of letters, couched in terms of fiery love. In my 
letters I told her of my days at home and my fishing excur- 
sions. As an idea of how "puppy love" took hold of me, 
I will quote part of a letter I wrote to Emily. The letter 
ran as follows: 

"My Dear Emily: I have just returned from a fishing 
excursion on a beautiful little stream. We spent the 
morning in fishing, hunting and general merry making. 
After dinner was served, we lovers of nature went to the 
woods for a stroll. I was seated on a beautiful hillside 



EMILY 119 

covered with grass, emerald green. At the foot of the hill 
was a large field of almost ripe clover, which filled the 
whole valley with its fragrance. At the right of me stood 
a little farm house surrounded with large rose bushes, 
which were covered with sweet smelling red and white 
flowers. Near the center of the valley I could see a little 
river winding its way snakelike oceanward, while here 
and there a streamlet joined it from some clear spring on 
the hillside. The sky was endless blue except for a small 
white cloud floating about. All was silence in the little 
valley except the murmurings of the brooklets and the 
interruption of the gaily singing mocking birds. I spent 
almost the entire evening gazing at this beautiful work of 
nature. It was certainly a great source of pleasure to me, 
but there was something still lacking. As I sat there my 
thoughts went back to the crowded city, to the pleasant 
days at the Normal, to my Emily. I thought if you were 
there seated by my side to talk to me as in past days, it 
would be all that I could wish for." 

To this she responded: 

"Dear Will: That was a beautiful scene you pictured 
in your last letter. I fancied I was in the little valley with 
you gathering roses and clover blossoms, but do you not 
think you would have enjoyed yourself much more had 
you been here to go with me to the theater. One of the 
finest comedies was played at the new theater. I thought 



120 STONES IN A LIFE 

it was simply grand. I thought of you a number of times 
while it was in progress and wished you were with me. I 
have gone to four theaters this week. The matinee last 
Sunday was the best I ever saw. 

"Say, Will, believe me, I went to church last Sunday 
evening. Don 't you think I am getting good, for it is the 
first time I have gone since you left. I will go more if you 
return to school this fall. Have you decided whether or 
not you are coming ? It is only a month until school opens 
again, and I am looking forward to the happy September 
days, and I hope we will spend more happy days together. 
As ever, your Emily." 

September was almost at hand and I had made but few 
arrangements towards paying back the money I had bor- 
rowed the year before for my expenses while in school. 
I saw it was impossible for me to expect to go back that 
year and so accepted the position of principal of a village 
school, which was neither in the neighborhood of my home 
nor the Normal, but I was compelled to see Emily again 
nefore beginning my six months' work, so on my way to 
my new field of work, I stopped off at the Normal to visit 
my friends and Emily. 

I spent Sunday afternoon and evening with her, most of 
the time being spent in her rose garden. We discussed 
the beauties of nature and all the things that those affected 
with puppy love find uppermost in their hearts. At last 



» EMILY 121 

I plucked up enough courage to say what was in my heart. 
I told her we had spent many pleasant days together and 
asked her if she loved me, and whether she would love 'me 
while I was away from her. It was a while before she re- 
plied, but finally she leaned her head on my shoulder and 
said, "I love you, Will." 

The next week I went to my new charge. All through 
the work in school I had visions of my Emily. I pictured 
in my mind a pretty little cottage surrounded with flowers 
and green meadows, with a little auburn haired girl trip- 
ping down the pathway to greet me as I returned from my 
daily work. While in the midst of these thoughts of the 
beautiful home and Emily, I never once considered where 
I was to get the money to provide all these comforts, nor 
did I stop to consider how I was to pay back the money I 
had borrowed to help pay my school expenses. I won- 
dered if it was right to take a girl from a home .of luxury 
and place her in a home of want and hunger, for I began 
to realize it would be impossible to live on love alone. 
Still I labored and thought of Emily. The long interesting 
letters which I received from her inspired me in my work, 
and encouraged me to strive the harder. 

One day passed without the usual letter arriving and 
gloom took the place of gladness in my heart. Several 
days passed and still no letter. I began to think that 
Emily was ill, and that I had better give up my school 
work and go to visit her. At last the long looked for let- 



122 STONES IN A LIFE 

ter came, and trembling with eagerness I tore it open 
and read the following: 

"Kind Will: Probably you have wondered why this 
letter did not come at the nsnal time. I have been in 
trouble. I have spent many happy hours both with and in 
writing to you. Well do I remember the night we met at 
the reception, and more distinctly do I remember the 
beautiful Sunday afternoon when you asked me if I loved 
you. Believe me, Will, I did love you, I loved you next 
to Harry. Harry has been away almost two years and I 
was so lonesome without him. I thought if I could keep 
the company of some nice young man while he was away, 
I could have a better time and not be so lonesome. When 
I saw you I thought you w^re such an excellent young 
man and that I would enjoy myself in your company, and 
I did enjoy myself while we were together, didn't you? 
When I think of the past days I stop and wonder if I do 
not love you even better than Harry. I have shed tears 
since I began this letter to think I can never be with you 
again, but the parting time has come. Forgive me, Will, 
I did not mean to be rude or treat you badly, but only 
wanted to pass the time away. Harry will come next 
month to take me as his bride. You may come to the wed- 
ding if you wish. Your once affectionate Emily." 

Could I believe my eyes 1 Did I read it correctly, or was 
I in a dream? I read the letter over and over again. It 
was only too true. I thought my life was ruined. For 



EMILY 123 

many days my grief was such that I thought everyone 
could see it. Puppy love does affect one most strangely. 
I was asked if I was in bad health for I seemed to be pining 
away, but I decided to take a brace and not make a failure 
of myself or of my school. I became more reasonable 
finally, and summed up my little love affair as follows : 

More than a year ago I learned that a certain city 
girl, a coquette, admired me and wanted to form my ac- 
quaintance. Later I met her at the reception, after which 
she showed indications that she cared for me and would 
be true. I was at an age to love. I had to love, at least, 
I thought it was that. Emily was pretty so I loved her. 
If it had not been her it would have been some other girl. 
While on my vacation I corresponded with her, and on my 
way to take charge of my school called on her and was 
gladly welcomed. I asked her if she loved me and she 
said she did. I believed her. Since then I had spent many 
happy minutes reading her letters. All this time, and 
before, she cared more for the other fellow than she did 
for me. The parting hour, as she said, had come. I made 
up my mind that it was a good thing for me. I decided 
that I would not let such things worry me in the future 
and that I would double my efforts and try to make a man 
of myself. 

I decided that when I had made a mark in the world 
and was in a position to provide a home, that it was time 
enough to choose a life companion. But my experience 



124 STONES IN A LIFE 

with Emily was not without its benefits, for I had discov- 
ered a class of girls to be avoided in the future — the make- 
love-quick girls. In the future I planned to place myself 
in the company of girls of a different standard. I decided 
that an upright young man should always be in the com- 
pany of a "Model Young Lady." 




CHAPTER XIV. 

A MODEL YOUNG LADY 

Among the many things in this world that add to its 
beauty, its loveliness and happiness of humanity, a model 
young lady fills one of the highest positions. She can do 
more towards the upbuilding and uplifting of her race 
than any other one thing of God's creations. In estimating 
all the qualities that belong to this particular human 
makeup, we must consider her physical features, mental 
ability and moral character. 

As to her physical makeup, very little mention should 
be made, as there are other qualities so much more impor- 
tant. A certain young lady while discussing this subject, 
said she would consider that a model young lady ought 
to be about five feet seven inches in height, to weigh about 
130 pounds, to have black hair, dark blue or black eyes 
and fairly light complexion. Such a young lady would, 
without a doubt, be a beautiful young girl, but it is quite 
likely such a one would not suit the fancy of all; some 



126 STONES IN A LIFE 

might prefer auburn hair, additional weight and other 
changes in general. But for my personal opinion I would 
say that any young lady can be a "model young lady" if 
she so desires. 

Under the physical makeup of a young lady neatness in 
dress should be mentioned. I should much rather see a 
young man slovenly in dress and neatness than a young 
lady. If the former is not neatly dressed he is more to be 
excused than the latter, for the very cheapest material can 
be made into a neatly fitting dress. Women who are not 
rich can always appear well dressed with a little care in 
the choice and arrangement of the materials, never using 
such materials as would attract unnecessary attention. 

When a man returned from a public occasion in which 
a certain young lady of prominence was to appear, he was 
asked by his wife if the lady was beautifully dressed. 
When he assured his wife that she was, he was asked what 
kind of a dress she wore. "I don't remember," said he. 
"Well, then," said the wife, "how do you know she was 
well dressed?" "After I have seen a lady and cannot de- 
scribe her dress, I assure myself that she was well dressed, 
for if she was not neatly dressed or was gowned in an 
unusual gay dress I certainly would take note of it." 

Another of a model young lady's more important quali- 
ties is her well developed mental faculties. In a discus- 
sion of this question it is somewhat difficult to know just 
where to draw the line ; to know just what is a model edu- 






A MODEL YOUNG LADY 127 

cation. However I do not think it absolutely necessary to 
be a University graduate to be a model young lady. In 
fact, by the time she would finish such course she would 
not, ordinarily, be a very young lady. But if she should, 
she would more than likely be weak in some of the other 
branches of mental instruction which are necessary to her 
complete fitness for the great sphere for which she was 
created — mistress of the home in its fullest and truest 
sense. Yet if she has the proper training (which we are 
taking into consideration that she has) from childhood 
she may receive both and also develop any special talent 
she may be fortunate enough to possess, such as music, 
painting or elocution. These last things add to her mental 
beauty, but are not altogether essentials. 

Last, but not least, is her knowledge of domestic sci- 
ence. So many of the so-called "high class" of today 
think it unnecessary that their daughters be taught to do 
the various household duties. They are educated in all 
other modern sciences and arts, but could not cook a de- 
cent meal if their life depended upon it. They look upon 
such work as mere drudgery and not as something worth 
accomplishing. In my estimation it is far more honorable 
to be a good cook and good housekeeper than to go in so- 
called "high society," have the name of the most graceful 
dancer in the ball room, or to be the champion at the fash- 
ionable card table. 



128 STONES IN A LIFE 

But the highest of all possessions, and in a sense in- 
cludes all the other qualifications, is moral character. 
This one word "character" counts for more in the makeup 
of a model young lady than all others combined, for even 
though her face be homely and her mental powers moder- 
ate, if she has a beautiful, noble, true Christian character, 
all other defects vanish from sight, for as the old adage 
has it, "handsome is as handsome does." One of the best 
features of character and one in which so many girls of to- 
day are somewhat lacking, is modesty. She should let her 
words, thoughts and deeds be pure and sweet. Too many 
who are thought to be models in many respects, are too 
bold in words and actions for their own well being. In 
fact, if she is a model young lady she should know, by her 
better judgment, what is prudent and what is not. 

She should be truthful that her words may be relied 
upon at any time and under any circumstances. She 
should be able to "bridle her own tongue" against speak- 
ing evil of her neighbors, and ever strive that the words 
of her mouth and the meditations of her heart might at 
any and all times be acceptable in the sight of God. In 
her daily avocations of life she should be earnest and zeal- 
ous in all she undertakes, no matter how small or how diffi- 
cult. She should be firm and have the will power when a 
task is begun to labor to see it finished. 

Another lovely trait that belongs to this model young 
lady is courtesy in all respects, but more particularly to 



A MODEL YOUNG LADY 129 

those who do her honor. I consider it an honor to honor 
a lady, but there are hundreds of so-called ladies who re- 
ceive honor and are not worthy of it. I was riding in a 
street car in which all of the seats were taken when two 
well dressed women entered, whom I supposed to be ladies. 
My friend and I being seated near the door through which 
they entered, courteously gave them our seats. Without 
any signs or remarks whatever to show they appreciated 
the act of honor, they resumed their boisterous laughing 
and talking. I heard one of them remark to the other,, 
"those fellows certainly are 'easy marks.' ' Such actions 
as this on the part of the ladies or women, I should say, 
for if the definition of "lady" is as I understand it, such 
are not ladies, towards the gentlemen, is the cause of the 
fairer sex not receiving more respect and honor. 

The model girl should allow herself to appear before 
people in the same simple way at all times; not one time 
as though they were the only friend and probably the next 
time forget to recognize their acquaintance. She should 
always cultivate a spirit of friendliness and loveliness to- 
ward all. She must possess a loving or affectionate dispo- 
sition, which will include her kind and cheering smiles, 
that may help to brighten the way of some poor soul and 
add a star to her own crown, for there is nothing that adds 
more to the comfort of others with such little exertion and 
effort on her part, than a pleasant smile or a kind word. 

Another noble element in her character is that of in- 



130 STONES IN A LIFE 

dustry. She may possess a number of the other qualities 
that go to make up her life, but if she lacks the spirit of 
industry a great link is missing in her chain of virtues. 
She may be quite perfect in other respects but if in all her 
movements she is sloven and carries the appearance that 
life is a burden, because she has something to do, her 
beauty in other respects is, to a great extent, marred. 

To develop and cultivate a model character, which, as I 
have said is the potent factor of a young lady, she must 
have high ideals in her own life and those of her asso- 
ciates and friends. So many girls do not seem to have 
any end in view, no point towards which they are striving. 
Nor do their thoughts seem to go beyond the present 
moment. In selecting their associates they are in no wise 
particular, especially young men. In many cases the 
more of a " sport ' ' the more in the ' ' swim ' ' they think they 
are. They do not stop to consider his morality. If he is 
good looking and goes "swell" dressed he is the one all 
are after, no matter how vile his character or how degrad- 
ing his habits. 

I am thinking of one case in particular where a young 
man had an engagement with one of my girl friends, a 
very pure and innocent girl of about 17, for Sunday after- 
noon. He being so full of strong drink that afternoon, the 
date of his calling had to be postponed until that evening. 
That evening it was all passed with a jolly laugh 
that Arthur was too drunk to come. In a number of cases 



A MODEL YOUNG LADY 131 

I have known young women to permit the young man with 
whom they were keeping company to smoke, chew or use 
profane language in their presence. If the girls and young 
ladies of this nation should say, and mean what they say, 
"no young man will be allowed in my personal company 
who is not honorable, upright and free from all filthy hab- 
its, ' ' there would be a marked change in the characters of 
our young men within a very short time. The girl who 
answers these requirements and makes this resolution is, 
in my estimation, a "Model Young Lady.'' 



\ I 



CHAPTER XV. 

MEN WANTED 

Did yon ever see the sign "Men Wanted" in some prom- 
inent place? Yon have, I am sure, bnt it is qnite likely 
that you read it in a glance without considering its real 
meaning. It means that such and such company wants 
men. Suppose that some man who is without arms should 
respond to such sign by saying, "I notice this company 
wants men. I am without work and need a position very 
badly," what would the proprietor in charge say? He 
would say, "you cannot do our work. "We want men who 
can do all kinds of work." In other words they want 
complete men. This man was lacking. 

I see such a sign standing out in the future saying, 
"Men Wanted." This sign is so large that it covers both 
Heaven and earth. All men should see it. It means com- 
plete men ; men who are not lacking in any way but espe- 
cially in morals. This is not the same sign as the other. 
Men will be accepted in response to this one regardless 



134 STONES IN A LIFE 

of their physical disabilities, but they must be clean men. 
A man, who, by some accident, has lost all of his four limbs 
is carried before the proprietor of the future who is call- 
ing for pure men and applies for work. Though he is as 
helpless as a babe, his morals are good, he is a pure man. 
He is invited to do all he can. At the same time, a strong, 
red faced, red nosed young man who is seemingly perfect 
in physique applies for a place. His body is perfect, but 
his mind, his morals, his thoughts and his manners are 
corrupt. He is rejected. ? 

The progress of civilization has been so rapid in the 
past few years that we boys who are called the next gener- 
ation will be compelled to possess more qualities of man- 
hood than the men of the generation that is just passing. 
We will not only have more battles to fight, but more will 
be expected of us. We will have more things with which 
to contend. The highly educated man of a century ago 
would seem now, if living, to be on the borders of ignor- 
ance. 

Did you ever hear your father or grandfather speak of 
old Mr. So and So, who now seems to be an almost entirely 
ignorant man. as once being the leader in educational af- 
fairs? And is this progress stopped? If the young man 
or boy of today does not acquire a full store of knowledge 
and training, what will be his condition as compared to 
the men of half a century hence, with whom he is to live ? 
No comparison. 



MEN WANTED 135 

To be sure other things have progressed with minds of 
men, as this is the keynote to all progress. We receive 
news from the opposite side of the globe in less time than 
our ancestors of a century ago learned of events transpir- 
ing in their own neighborhood. We cross the ocean now in 
four days when once it took that many months. News is 
sent across the ocean now without a wire as easily as it 
once was with one. We now travel hundreds of miles in 
the air when once it was thought impossible to go that 
many feet. Islands and continents that were once un- 
known are now inhabited by a civilized and progressive 
race. Advancements that were 100 years ago unthought 
of have recently been made in Government, great societies 
organizations and combinations have been formed which 
have largely displaced neighborhood affairs. The great 
trusts of today are to be compared to the individual busi- 
ness man as a great mountain to a mole hill. In the shadow 
of the mountain the mole hill sinks into insignificance. 
Such problems, and others too numerous to mention, are 
before the people of today for solution, and they will still 
be unsolved when the next generation takes hold of the 
government. 

So we boys and young men, who are now preparing to 
be men, can see what a burden we will have when the 
weight of government is tossed from the shoulders of our 
fathers to the weaker ones of our own. Nevertheless we 



136 STONES IN A LIFE 

will be well paid for the carrying of the heavy burden, 
for life is worth much more now than it was in the past. 

Thirty years ago a man signed a contract for the pur- 
chase of a farm. He is now ready to sell it. Is he willing 
to sell it, with all of the modern improvements, for the 
same price that he paid 30 years ago. He will not, regard- 
less of the fact that he and family Jiave lived in luxury for 
30 years from its yieldings. He will not take one-fifth nor 
one-tenth nor one-twentieth of the purchase price. The 
farm has increased in value. In like manner the value of 
life has increased. For this reason we are compelled to 
pay more for life than our fathers did. We must spend all 
our early years in seeking the ways of this life if we hope 
to be prepared to take charge of our duties, as they are 
being heaped upon us. 

If I were to try to purchase life at the same price my 
father did 40 years ago, i. e. spend three months in school 
in preparation for a whole life and expect to accomplish 
anything, total defeat would be the result. In order that 
we may reap full benefits of this valuable life we must be 
"Architects of our own tower." As you know there are 
two kinds of towers and man is the architect of both. One 
is made of perishable materials and succumbs to time, the 
other is composed of our acts, deeds and thoughts and is 
imperishable. If we visit any of the old towers that come 
under the former head, which were erected under the old 



MEN WANTED 137 

Feudal system, we will see what time has done with them, 
some being totally destroyed, others only partly. 

The imperishable towers are much more numerous than 
the perishable. The perishable are found in very few 
countries or towns, while the imperishable are found in 
every man, woman and child. It is the imperishable that 
concerns the individual. Every day it is growing and it 
is with us whether it contains material so that when it is 
finished it will be a tower of beauty, strength and honor, 
or one that is so weak and tottering that it will be forever 
a discredit and dishonor to the builder. The first thing 
in building a tower is to lay the foundation. If we wish 
our tower to stand we must erect it upon something that 
is firm and substantial. 

The present tower building is not conducted as it was 
in the dark and middle ages. In the dark ages when there 
was want of knowledge combined with the want of mate- 
rial and means, many towers fell by the yielding of foun- 
dations. Their foundations were not substantial ; they 
were founded upon the sand instead of on the rock. But 
in the present century, when the mind of man is more 
active and they have more material with which to work, 
we see tower builders dig through the sand, regardless of 
depth, until firm ground is reached and there begin to lay 
the foundation stones. They build upon rock ; their towers 
will last longer, but still they are perishable. 



138 STONES IN A LIFE 

So it is with the building of the towers of men. They 
must have a substantial foundation, regardless of price. 
Their towers must be erected upon the foundations of 
knowledge, virtue and religion, and not upon folly, vanity, 
intemperance and infidelity. Poor foundations have been 
the ruin of many towers. When do we build these towers ? 
From the cradle to the grave. What kind of material do 
we use in the erection of these towers? The "Stones of 
Life." 

Do we find some of these stones defective, finally to 
crumble away and leave a defect in the great tower ? Yes, 
we find numbers of defective stones in the towers of men. 
A man will oftimes, purposely or unthoughtfully, place in 
a rotten stone which causes a defect in the tower. These 
rotten stones are so numerous that they present them- 
selves to us every day to be placed in our tower. Some of 
these stones, of course, are not as harmful as others. Even 
the man who is slovenly in dress and manners is placing 
an imperfect stone in his tower, for a man's clothes are a 
part of the individual and enter into our idea of charac- 
ter, and "the manners of a gentleman are the index of 
his soul." A man need not necessarily be dressed in an 
expensive attire, but they should be neat and clean. A 
cheap suit can be made fit and kept clean as easily as an 
expensive one. When I hear a young man who is very 
slovenly in dress and manners, talking of applying for a 
certain position of note, I think "poor fellow if you had 



MEN WANTED 139 

some one to teach you how to dress and act, and to help 
you rid yourself of some of those slang expressions, you 
would be more likely to secure the desired position." 

A man may know as many languages as Burrit, may have 
made scientific discoveries greater than Darwin, may be 
richer than Rockefeller, may be wiser than Solomon and 
as brave as Jackson, yet if he has the habit of hesitating 
over his words or twisting his limbs or twirling his 
thumbs, doing or saying awkward things or laughing 
boisterously, of what account is he to society? 

The man who is using constant vulgar and profane 
language is, without a doubt, laying a very rotten stone 
in his tower. He is not only doing an injustice to his God 
and fellow man, but more particularly to himself. Every 
oath a man utters in my presence causes my respect for 
him to drop at least one degree, and if it continued my 
respect for him soon drops far below zero. 

What causes a man to use such language? They do so 
through ignorance. A man who uses profane language is 
ignorant in one of two ways or both ; he is ignorant of the 
harm it does himself and fellow man, or his general train- 
ing has been so slight that he has not words enough in his 
vocabulary to express his thoughts and feelings. You may 
choose any habitual swearer, put one thousand additional 
words in his vocabulary, and nine times out of ten the vul- 
gar habit will be gone. I have oftimes heard men end a 
story with a series of fearful oaths in order to produce 



140 STONES IN A LIFE 

the desired effect. If they had a few other words at their 
command this would be avoided. 

There are hundreds of other defective stones which we 
must watch lest they force us to place them into our wor- 
thy towers. A few of the more common defective stones 
are the rotten stones of smoking, chewing, lack of respect 
toward women as well as the old, lack of self control and 
self respect, not knowing your duty, lying, cheating and 
stealing. 

In addition to being' architects of our own tower, there 
are many other factors that enter into the preparation to 
respond to the call "Men Wanted." Keeping up in the 
race is a very important factor in the making of man. 
In these late years when every man has swift feet and 
everything is done in a moment, if you have not swift feet 
you fall behind in the race. The world is moving as never 
before and the man who will not move with it will simply 
"get left." You must be trained if you hope to win, for 
we would not expect an untrained horse to win in a race. 
Nor is it always necessary for a man to go to a college or 
university to receive this training. "The world itself is 
a university." Travel and contact with man and the 
struggle to get along in life, contribute largely to the 
training of man. 

A certain college, as an advertising scheme, sent out a 
bulletin which contained the picture of a happy family 
circled around the eldest son. The intelligent looking lad 



MEN WANTED 141 

was holding a college diploma on which were written the 
following words: "Preparatory life completed. Ready for 
the problems of real life." As 1 looked at this quite 
pleasant picture, I thought, "My friend, if that paper, 
though it be a diploma from the best college, is all you 
can present to prove to the world that you are ready for 
the problems of life, you will doubtless meet hundreds of 
unexpected difficulties." In other words, his success will 
at first be very slow. 

Success is the overcoming of difficulties. "If there 
were no difficulties there would be no success." Difficul- 
ties are oftimes the means of success. 

In speaking of a young man who was needlessly spend- 
ing all of his weekly earnings, my father said : ' ' When he 
meets a real hard problem such as a severe attack of ill- 
ness when he will be compelled to call upon his friends 
to help him, his life will be changed. ' ' And so it is with 
each individual man; when we meet some difficulty that 
seems almost impassable, we oftimes become discouraged 
and think of giving up, while at the same time we are 
reaping a reward from the difficulty through the training. 

Another all important factor in the making of man is a 
good name. "A good name is rather to be chosen than 
riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. ' ' In 
other words, if a man possesses a good name he is a weal- 
thy man. The merchant, the machinist and the miner may 
work and save until they become very rich, the doctor may 



142 STONES IN A LIFE 

have the dollars rolling in from 5 a. m. to 10 p. m., the 
miser may have his thousands and the millionaire may 
steadily be increasing his millions, but if they do not pos- 
sess a good name they are not rich. A good name will 
make any man rich, therefore, all men can be rich if they 
so desire. The farmer may be compelled to sell his horses 
and land to pay his debts, the laborer may go to his morn- 
ing work without his breakfast and the beggar may die 
on account of hunger, but if they possess a good name 
they are rich. 

I was interested in a little story told by a certain minis- 
ter about a young man who was trying to get an educa- 
tion. The young man having attended college for two 
years and the last of his financial resources having been 
exhausted, returned home very much discouraged though 
still caring and being ambitious for higher life. After the 
kind old minister listened to his story with a fatherly ear, 
he surprised the young man by telling him he would let 
him have the $300 which were needed to carry him through 
the remainder of the college course. When the young man 
asked the minister how he expected to be made safe for the 
payment of the sum, as the lad had no parents to help him 
make the note safe, the minister said: "Young man your 
good name is security enough for twice that amount." 

A man can possess a good name in no other way than by 
his own efforts, and these efforts may be brought about, to 
a large extent, by self-reliance. The failure of hundreds 



MEN WANTED 143 

of young men is brought about on account of their not 
having enough self-reliance. After a boy begins to pass 
into his twenties, if he has been confronted by a few dis- 
couraging problems and feels that he is not competent to 
accomplish scarcely a thing in any line, it is at this point 
the more mature men should help them by encouragement. 
I have oftimes heard young men say and have felt that way 
myself, "If I were young So and So, I could accomplish 
much more than what I am as it is, but I feel that I am in- 
competent to do anything for a year or two at least." A 
young man should begin trying to do something as soon 
as anything comes near to be done and not wait for a year 
or two to slide by, for even we young men have only a few 
years to be here and every one should be well used. The 
advice my father has oftimes given me is, "My son, you 
must take long leaps in this life, only taking care not to 
pass the line." So if we hope to be qualified to respond 
to this great call, "Men Wanted!" we must begin early 
and take a rapid pace in life. We must be "men." 

If the coming generation is to accomplish as much or 
more than the present one, the young men of today must 
leap like a frightened deer from their hiding places of 
boyish acts, grab a hoe, hammer, pen, Bible, or something 
of the kind and try to make a mark in the world. The 
ambitious young fellow who is willing to lay his hands on 
any kind of an instrument to make mark in the world, is 
a "man," and is being searched for from all quarters of 



144 STONES IN A LIFE 

the earth. The farm is calling for them. The shops are 
calling for them. The law offices are wanting them. The 
school room is begging for "men." The pulpit is calling 
for them. The nation herself, in her daily prayer to the 
Supreme Ruler, is praying : 

1 * God give us men ! A time like this demands 

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands ; 
Men whom the lust of office does not kill, 

Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy, 
Men who possess opinions and a will , 

Men who have honor, men who will not lie, 
Men who can stand before a demagogue, 

And scorn his treacherous natterings without winking. 
Tall men sun-crowned, who live above the fog 

In public duty and in private thinking — 
For whilst the rabble with their thumb worn creeds, 

Their large professions and their little deeds, 
Mingle in selfish strife, Lo ! freedom weeps, 

Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps. ' ' 



A SERMON 



THE SCARLET CHORD 

A Sermon by Rev. D. W. Goldsmith. 

Text: "And she bound the scarlet line in the window." 
Josh. 2:21. 

The text refers to the works of Rahab, the harlot, whose 
past life was so filled with sin and folly that she could 
not have a place in the homes of Jericho. Nevertheless, on 
account of her faith she became famous in the scripture. 
We find her name frequently mentioned in the Old and 
New Testaments. 

Such was the record to which Rahab had attained. Let 
us take Rahab as our pattern, not for what she had been, 
but for what she 1 became by obeying God, in rescuing the 
spies, and in saving herself and her family. 

The text carries us back, in spirit, to Jericho which was 
a noted city in the land of Canaan. The high walls, groves 
of palm trees and woods of balsam made the little city 



150 A SERMON 

famous like a blooming garden. But Jericho was a tem- 
ple of idols and a scene of abomination. God's day of 
reckoning was at hand, for God's children were coming 
to destroy the heathen gods, and Jericho was doomed. 
God's children were ready to take possession of the land 
which God had promised Abraham and Isaac. 

High on the walls of Jericho stood a house where sin 
and shame dwelt. In that house was Rahab, the harlot, 
whose name virtuous people of Jericho blushed to speak 
because she had been driven from home and had turned 
her life over to sin and shame. Was she happy? No. 
She was away from home in sin like the prodigal son Avho 
said: "How many servants has my father and bread to 
spare and I am starving." But Israel was coming like a 
whirl wind and the fear of God was going before them 
and causing Jericho to be troubled over what she had 
heard. And Rahab, the harlot, was also troubled for she 
had heard of God's law, "Thou shalt not commit adult- 
ery." She had learned that the God of justice was a God 
of mercy and that he was different from the god of her 
people. But Rahab said : " Oh ! that I might call this God 
my God, and dwell beneath the shadow of his wings and 
find peace and grace forever." 

While thinking of this new God, Rahab 's heart beat with 
surprise when two strange men walked across her thres- 
hold. These were spies that Joshua had sent at the risk 
of their lives. They had entered the city, but in none of 



THE SCARLET CHORD 151 

the houses except Rahab 's could they feel safe. As the 
coming and going of strangers was nothing unusual at her 
house, the spies could learn what was going on in the 
city, and from this place they could make their escape in 
case they were detected. Rahab knew the men and her 
heart beat with joy for them. The' news soon spread in 
the city that the spies were there. The king having heard 
this, without delay, sent officers to Rahab 's house to de- 
mand that the woman bring forth the men. But Rahab 
hid the men on the flat roof of the house in a pile of flax, 
met the pursuers with tne evasive reply that the men had 
gone but could be overtaken between there and the Jor- 
dan. The officers had scarcely gone until Rahab mounted 
the roof and told the spies what had happened, laid her 
heart bare to them and begged to show mercy to her and 
to her family when the city was to be destroyed. 

Upon getting such promise as she asked for, she urged 
them to flee in haste, telling them not to take the road to 
Jordan, but to go to the hills and hide for three days. 
After delivering this message to them, she seized the scar- 
let chord and let them down through a window outside 
of the city, with the understanding that this same scarlet 
chord would be bound in her window. 

This chord might be considered a token of the blood of 
Jesus Christ. Had it not been for Rahab 's mercy and the 
scarlet line those men would have perished, but the scar- 
let chord in the hands of Rahab was their salvation. My 



152 A SERMON 

friends, we are in a house of this world, seemingly, no 
means of our escape so far as this world is concerned, but 
in God there is one, and out one, means of rescue for the 
sinner. 

This single means of rescue is through the love of Christ. 
Don't try to help self. Don't depend on the world, nor 
seek salvation in wisdom, pleasure, or honor; that means 
death, but grasp the scarlet line and cling to it firmly. 
It will save you; it is the line of rescue for sinners. 

This scarlet line in Rahab 's window not only saved the 
spies, but it saved Rahab and her family, for after the 
spies had gone she bound the line in her window and 
gathered all of her father's family in her house but told 
them nothing concerning the spies. 

One week passed and Jericho underwent a change, for 
Israel had crossed the Jordan, in the same manner that it 
had crossed the Red Sea, and marched to Jericho. The 
people of Jericho were much alarmed, but Rahab was calm. 
In her heart she was confident that she would be delivered 
and that she would soon be with God's people. Her sinful 
life was closed with Jericho and a new life begun at this 
point, but this new life was not single handed for her 
father, mother, brothers and sisters were saved with her. 
She might not have thought of them in her days of shame, 
but now old affections were renewed; love for home had 
returned. Oh ! how our love runs after home when we get 
saved. 



THE SCA RLE T . CHORD 153 

Rahab ran to her parents, told them her experience and 
succeeded in getting them all in her house and beneath the 
scarlet chord. There was no place exposed to the enemy 
like Rahab 's house. And when Israel came to the city all 
was filled with fear except Rahab and her house. They 
were not afraid because they sat under the scarlet line and 
knew that they were saved. Rahab 's house could be seen 
afar out in Israel's camps and it designated a place where 
a child of God, a light in the world, was located. (Brother, 
Sister, let the world know where you are). 

Israel marched around Jericho for seven days and on 
the seventh day, seven times and the battle cries were 
heard along with the blowing of rams' horns and shouting. 
The walls of the city fell with a crash. The proud city, 
once a dwelling place of kings, now lay a hopeless mass 
of ruin. But like a cliff stood a large building amid the 
ruins, and from the window of this house proudly fluttered 
a scarlet line which seemed to say, "You can't touch this 
house for it is Rahab 's, and she is saved and all that is 
hers is safe in this house." The home was not saved 
because it was stronger, but because it was protected by 
the scarlet chord. Behind this line we find protection. Oh ! 
friends, does the scarlet line shield your home? Does the 
upper door post of your house bear this inscription? What 
is the protection of your home ? What guards your chil- 
dren? It is nothing we can boast of, not our wisdom, 
riches, might or strength, but the scarlet line, the grace of 



154 A SERMON 

Jesus Christ. Friends is your whole house dedicated to 
God? Are you as zealous for the salvation of your loved 
ones as Rahab was for her friends? She did not ask that 
only herself be saved, but all of her people as well; she 
cried to her friends to get under the scarlet line. 

Brothers and sisters, do you pray, "Oh! God, give me 
my girls and boys ? ? ' What do we praise most in this world, 
our families, our souls, or this dear old book, the Bible ? In 
how many homes is the Bible thrown back in some dark 
corner to be covered with dust, and in how many of these 
homes are the children with prayerless mothers and fath- 
ers? An aged man on his deathbed said, "How well do I 
remember my dear father and mother who lifted me up 
in prayer in my childhood days and led me to a legacy 
that makes me rich in the jaws of death." 

My friends, are we such parents that when we are in 
our graves our children will say from *heir heart : ' ' Thank 
God for such helpful fathers and mothers?" 

Let us, as parents, bind scarlet lines in the paths of our 
children. 



THE END. 



JUN29 



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